This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in the Middle East, Afghanistan & Pakistan Region between May 21-27, 2020.
This week’s selection from across the region includes scenes of tragic loss, a subdued holiday and sparks of hope — from a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people and brought shock and grief, to Israeli restaurants starting to reopen as pandemic restrictions ease, and millions remaining under strict stay-at-home orders during the Eid al-Fitr, a normally festive holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Click to Gallery
This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in the Middle East, Afghanistan & Pakistan Region between May 21-27, 2020.
Follow AP visual journalism:
A girl attends candlelight vigil for victims of the crash of a state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane on Friday, in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP PhotoFareed Khan)
A worshipper offers Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, outside a shrine to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Muslims worldwide celebrated one of their biggest holidays under the long shadow of the coronavirus, with millions confined to their homes and others gripped by economic concerns during what is usually a festive time of shopping and celebration.(AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)
A Bangladeshi worker looks from behind a curtain of his apartment balcony in a building where dozens of foreign workers living in overcrowded apartments have tested positive with the coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon on May 23, 2020. Some 250,000 registered migrant laborers in Lebanon — maids, garbage collectors, farm hands and construction workers — are growing more desperate as a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus restrictions. With no functioning airports and exorbitant costs of repatriation flights, many are trapped, unable to go home. (AP PhotoHussein Malla)
A member of the Israeli Mermaids Community wears a mermaid tail at the beachfront in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Members of the Israeli mermaid community gathered at the beachfront to mark the beginning of the bathing season. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
Members of the Israeli Mermaids Community swim with mermaid tails at the beachfront in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Members of the Israeli mermaid community gathered at the beachfront to mark the beginning of the bathing season. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
Muslim worshippers offer Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a park in the mixed Arab Jewish city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, May 24, 2020. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
A policeman orders people to evacuate the Mediterranean Sea corniche during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Many among those walking on the boardwalk did not wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus and were ignoring social distancing rules, leading security forces to intervene, detaining some and fining others. (AP PhotoHassan Ammar)
A waitress serves food at a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. After more than two months of closure due to the coronavirus, restaurants in Israel were allowed to re-open Wednesday. (AP PhotoSebastian Scheiner)
Greek Orthodox Bishop Theophylactos, holds a key as he reopens the Church of the Nativity to visitors after a nearly three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Bethlehem, West Bank, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)
Children take a bath in a canal as the weather turns warm in Peshawar, Pakistan, Thursday, May 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMuhammad Sajjad)
The gallery was curated by photographer Maya Alleruzzo.
Family members and relatives of Simon Eric, who died in the crash of a state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane on Friday, mourn during his funeral in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, May 25, 2020. (AP PhotoFareed Khan)
Follow AP visual journalism:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images
AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com
Volunteers look for survivors of a plane that crashed in a residential area of Karachi, Pakistan, May 22, 2020. An aviation official says a passenger plane belonging to state-run Pakistan International Airlines carrying nearly 100 passengers and crew crashed near Karachi's airport. (AP PhotoFareed Khan)
A girl attends candlelight vigil for victims of the crash of a state-run Pakistan International Airlines plane on Friday, in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP PhotoFareed Khan)
A worshipper offers Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, outside a shrine to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Muslims worldwide celebrated one of their biggest holidays under the long shadow of the coronavirus, with millions confined to their homes and others gripped by economic concerns during what is usually a festive time of shopping and celebration.(AP PhotoEbrahim Noroozi)
A Bangladeshi worker looks from behind a curtain of his apartment balcony in a building where dozens of foreign workers living in overcrowded apartments have tested positive with the coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon on May 23, 2020. Some 250,000 registered migrant laborers in Lebanon — maids, garbage collectors, farm hands and construction workers — are growing more desperate as a crippling economic and financial crisis sets in, coupled with coronavirus restrictions. With no functioning airports and exorbitant costs of repatriation flights, many are trapped, unable to go home. (AP PhotoHussein Malla)
A member of the Israeli Mermaids Community wears a mermaid tail at the beachfront in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Members of the Israeli mermaid community gathered at the beachfront to mark the beginning of the bathing season. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
Members of the Israeli Mermaids Community swim with mermaid tails at the beachfront in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Members of the Israeli mermaid community gathered at the beachfront to mark the beginning of the bathing season. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
Muslim worshippers offer Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a park in the mixed Arab Jewish city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, May 24, 2020. (AP PhotoOded Balilty)
A policeman orders people to evacuate the Mediterranean Sea corniche during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, May 24, 2020. Many among those walking on the boardwalk did not wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus and were ignoring social distancing rules, leading security forces to intervene, detaining some and fining others. (AP PhotoHassan Ammar)
A waitress serves food at a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. After more than two months of closure due to the coronavirus, restaurants in Israel were allowed to re-open Wednesday. (AP PhotoSebastian Scheiner)
Greek Orthodox Bishop Theophylactos, holds a key as he reopens the Church of the Nativity to visitors after a nearly three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Bethlehem, West Bank, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)
Children take a bath in a canal as the weather turns warm in Peshawar, Pakistan, Thursday, May 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMuhammad Sajjad)