A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 25, 2020

Okay, this week I failed as an editor because I can’t decide between two of Thomas Mukoya’s pictures so I am sharing both. In terms of beauty of image this takes the biscuit. A crush of warriors all pushing and shoving arcs from bottom right to near top left through a haze of dust being kicked up. I love the central figure, who seems to be trying to hold back the weight of the queue of beautifully dressed warriors. There is no escaping the expressions on each of their faces, especially, right on the edge of the frame, those gritted teeth.  Read on here  

Maasai men of Matapato jostle to parade as they attend the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

And the second image by Thomas, why did I choose it? Well it’s about scale. You get a sense of the thousands of people who are taking part in this ceremony, which is just about the only thing you don’t get from the image above. As far as the eye can see, there are sticks and faces and then more sticks and faces. Your eye is not really drawn to a single face, which gives you a sense of the scale of this event

Maasai men of Matapato attend the Olng'esherr (meat-eating) passage ceremony to unite two age-sets; the older Ilpaamu and the younger Ilaitete into senior elder-hood as the final rite of passage, after the event was initially postponed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Maparasha hills of Kajiado, Kenya September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Khaled Abdullah’s picture gives us a glimpse into grief at this funeral as you feel you have to peer through fingers poised near triggers that crush the viewer into the centre of the image. Three strong compositional diagonals, created by the finger, on the left, the line of the arm in grey that leads down to the heads, centre, and finally the stock of the weapon on the right, are a powerful counter to the fall of light. But even with all this, you just can’t look away from the boy’s eyes:  so sad. Or is that fury rather than sadness? 

A boy rides with Houthi followers on the back of a patrol truck during the funeral of Houthi fighters killed during recent battles against government forces, in Sanaa, Yemen September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah 

The moment you look at Saba Kareem’s picture you are aware that this man is blind. You know this because he is not looking at the task he is working and by the way his fingers, some doubled back, are powerfully and skillfully exploring the task at hand. The sense of determination is palpable. Not an easy subject to photograph well, but what drives us to his fingers is the criss- cross of lines of the vehicle with its bonnet lifted and the light on the fingers set against the dark engine. Read on here. 

Mustafa Aziz, a blind Iraqi mechanic, repairs his car at a garage in Baghdad, Iraq September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Saba Kareem

An uplifting picture from Amr Abdallah Dalsh with a complex composition that shouldn’t really work but it does. Basically, everything is on the edge of the frame. It’s all quite truncated with heads, arms, hands and necks all cropped off in a way that would ordinarily be quite uncomfortable to look at. Your eye is drawn to the blues of the background, but finally what we see at the centre of this swirling truncated chaos is a wonderful smile that lifts the heart. 

A member of Al-Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope) chamber orchestra of blind women reacts after the first concert, following months in limbo due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the Manasterly Palace in Cairo, Egypt, September 20, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Intensity and determination are the immediate impressions we get from Raneen Sawafta’s colourful picture. But without the caption we are unsure what is happening. We know it’s a school setting, but the teacher’s gesture seems unusually exaggerated. Is she angry? No, the child is very relaxed, and watching intently. Are they playing? No again. The eye contact is fixed and not playful. They are learning. Better just read the caption. 

A Palestinian teacher uses sign language as she gives a mathematics lesson to deaf students at al-Hanan School for the Deaf, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 17, 2020.. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

A complex and intriguing picture by Thaier al-Sudani to illustrate a complex story, a doctor beaten by family members of a coronavirus victim. The hand coming into the frame really makes this picture. Not only does it point out the tiny gesture by the man sitting in the wheelchair, it also points out the figure in bed almost invisible behind, screens, tubes, bottles, masks and bed clothes. Read on here. 

Patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at Al-Amal Hospital, in Najaf, Iraq September 13, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Take the politics out of this and what is not to like about a picture with a pyramid of cash stacked up in the public place. Close enough to reach out and grab a handful, except of course for the armed guards standing close by. When I first started in journalism my mentor said, “One question you need to always ask is ‘how much?’ and don’t forget that.” It would be great to know what the value of this pile is in dollars, as the cash is donations to fund conflict.   

Houthi followers stand by bills of Yemeni currency during a ceremony held by Houthis to collect supplies for their fighters battling government forces in various frontlines, in Sanaa, Yemen September 24, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Monicah Mwangi has captured all the expression, concentration and effort in the face of a young potential Olympian weightlifter. You can almost hear the grunt as Keysha lifts the weights above her head. Once we get over the visual distraction of the wording in the background, which I don’t really mind, we get to see the weights. It’s a start, but my word what a good start. Read on here for the rest of Monicah’s affectionate story.

 Keysha Atiky, granddaughter of Kenyan weightlifter Mercy Obiero, lifts weights during a training session at a gym within Umoja estate in Nairobi, Kenya September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

 

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 18, 2020

What great shape and composition in Mohamad Torokman’s striking image. The circle of solid black smoke is punctured by the streak of tear gas being thrown back, visually helping the composition as it’s almost aimed into the very top left corner of the frame. The heavy pale grey smoke of the gas forms a backdrop for the perfectly framed and silhouetted figure who is in profile, so we clearly see he is wearing a gas mask.  

A Palestinian demonstrator returns a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops during protest against Jewish settlements and normalizing ties with Israel, in Asira al-Qibliya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

It takes a little time to get to grips with the scale of Ronen Zvulun’s picture until you see the tiny figures bottom right. It’s then you begin to get a sense of the stone wall and the battlements, finally picking out more figures placed centrally. This might be because you are visually preoccupied with bright colours set against the solid slab of black of the sky.  

The flags of the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are projected on a section of the walls surrounding Jerusalem's Old City, as United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sign agreements toward normalising relations with Israel at a White House ceremony, in Jerusalem, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

What a powerfully sad picture from Alaa al-Marjani. A complex composition as the scene appears divided in two. On the left we have two people, completely unprotected against any disease lowering a wrapped and exhumed body into a rough coffin. And on the right, a figure seemingly divorced from the activity, sitting at rest barefoot in the sand, looking as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Maybe for him this is nothing out of the ordinary? Read on here. 

Iraqi men carry the corpse of a man who, according to his relatives, died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), after they dug it up to be transferred to the "Valley of Peace" cemetery on the outskirts of the holy city of Najaf, Iraq September 12, 2020. Picture taken September 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

Hamad I Mohammed’s picture intrigues us as it appears that hands, arms and heads are in danger of being severed by what momentarily looks like a steel medical chopping device, sliding back and forth. The sense of discomfort is added to by the expression of the man’s face and doubled by the reflection. The sense of a machine is suggested by the sharp lines of the window, the cold tones of the blues and whites, and the concrete walls.     

A Saudi national travelling into Bahrain gets a nose swab at an immigration checkpoint on the King Fahd Causeway that reopened after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions were eased, at the Bahrain-Saudi border, Bahrain, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

A simple detail picture from Mohammed Salem works well because it’s set against a clean background as a hand reaches in to take the small bird from a net it’s captured in. What is important is that the bird’s beak is in profile, and the eye, legs and feet are clearly seen. Without these tiny details we’d lose the sense of this being a trapped bird.  

A Palestinian man takes out a quail from a net after catching it in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Even though Yaman Al Shaar has shot her picture quite wide you still get the powerful feeling of care, concern and nervousness as the children help each other to sanitise their hands on returning to school. The scene is taking place under the watchful eye of the teacher and portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.   

A student sanitizes the hands of her classmate in a classroom as a school year kicks off amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (C0VID-19), in Damascus, Syria September 13, 2020. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

I don’t think there is any way you can look at Amr Abdullah Dalsh’s picture without feeling a smile creep across your lips. Pushing aside the thought of the possible dreadful smell of the camel’s breath the question you might ask yourself, would this picture work better cropped tighter? If the camel’s eye was cropped out, you’d get more teeth and a closer look at the man’s expression, or left wider to leave more of the man’s ear and a better shape to include the curve of his head? It’s one of those pictures no matter how you crop it, or no matter how long it took to be finally published, it will work. Read on here.

Hossam Nasser, 32, plays with his camel "Anter" in front of his house in the Nubian village of Gharb Soheil, on the west bank of the Nile river in Aswan, Egypt February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Equally satisfying from Amr Abdullah Dalsh is the carefully composed, quiet and cool toned image from the same story. I love the visual game that Amr has played as he waited for the cat to walk into the door space, its front legs at a perfect inverted V, towards the waiting arms of the Nile God Hapi. Without the cat no picture.  

A cat walks beside Egyptian hieroglyphs carved for "Hapi" God of the Nile on the wall at Temple of Philae in Aswan, Egypt February 18, 2020. Picture taken February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

A subtle and quiet picture from Amir Cohen to illustrate people preparing for lockdown in Israel. I am not a fan of silhouette pictures, but this really is a step above most as you get real sense of a pensive atmosphere. You are drawn into the rear of the picture and guided visually by the flags to the couple heading off into the backlight. A vertical line drawn between the flags bisects the space leading you down to the couple. If you take the time to think about the lockdown, you might get the sense that they are heading off into an uncertain future, or if you are more pragmatic with your thoughts, they could be heading home with the week’s food shopping. Read on here.

Israelis shop at the market before Israel will enter a second nationwide lockdown amid a resurgence in new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, forcing residents to stay mostly at home during the Jewish high-holiday season, in Ashdod, Israel September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Text edited by Giles Elgood 

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 11, 2020

Alaa al-Marjani made full use of social distancing guidelines to make this wonderfully graphic image as people could worship together for the first time in months. I am put in mind of a Bridget Riley painting or ripples in water. As you watch you are quickly memorized by the shapes and pattens shifting before your eyes. 

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers for the first time in months since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions were imposed, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq September 11, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

Pushing, shoving chaotic scenes are quite rare in these days of social distancing so Aziz Taher’s picture comes as bit of a surprise. Despite the key figure being quite small in the frame, his brightly coloured shirt set against a sea of black catches your eye. Helping this to happen is the vertical line of background shadow that cuts down into the figure as we try to look around the lifted weapon in the foreground that is also demanding our attention.    

Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is carried during his visit at Ain el Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, Lebanon September 6, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher 

Okay I hold my hand up. I like Ahmed Yosri’s picture purely because it appears the camel is chewing thoughtfully as it studies the public health notice on protecting yourself from coronavirus. The reason it works I think, is the totally clean and neutral background. Any visual noise here and the sense - and maybe the gentle smile - would be lost.   

A camel is seen near a billboard reading "sanitisation point" at an outdoor yard of The Salam Veterinary Hospital in Buraidah, Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia, September 3, 2020.  REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri 

A busy and subtle picture from Zohra Bensemra as she strikes the balance between showing the extent of the flooding and giving enough detail to show people struggling with it. The line of the edge of the building points out the man waist-deep in water and then zig zags you through to the rear of the picture so you see the whole street is flooded. Your attention is then brought back to all the dotted colours on the roof where we finally spot the woman separating out the clothing to try to dry it all off. 

A resident makes his way through a flooded street while a woman hangs clothes to dry on a terrace after last week's heavy rains in Keur Massar, Senegal September 8, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

The strong light hitting the papers on the blackboard and the bright yellow container gives Baz Ratner’s picture a glow of brilliant sunshine that is momentarily blinding. You get an immediate sense of warmth from it. Once your eyes adjust to the light your attention is grabbed by the chicken standing on the yellow container and then to the bottom third of the image that is populated with healthy looking chickens. We need the caption to really understand what is going on with this perplexing image. Read on here.  

Chickens are seen in a classroom converted into a poultry house because of COVID-19 in the town of Wang'uru, Kenya, August 28, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Half of Mohamed Azakir’s picture is dense black smoke meaning nothing is really visible in this half, so your eyes travel to the helicopter dropping water on the flames. But we get a sense that that is just not enough, so your attention is drawn to the now iconic shape of the grain storage unit that was destroyed in the massive blast in Beirut just over a month ago. It’s at this point the worry sets in, will there be another explosion? This fire is at the scene of the blast that killed dozens and injured hundreds. 

A helicopter tries to put out a fire that broke out at Beirut's port area, Lebanon September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Amr Abdallah Dalsh teases us with an almost, but not quite, perfect horizontal thirds composition as this windfarm stretches to the horizon. Teasing too is the fact the windmills are not perfectly regular in their vertical spacing. The colours also play into this teasing game with the warmth of the glow of the sands and the light on the windmills set against the cool blue grey of the unbroken skies. 

Wind turbines, which generate renewable energy, are seen on the Zafarana Wind Farm at the desert road of Suez outside of Cairo, Egypt September 1, 2020.  REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalshha

Hard to resist this picture of the moment captured of fire and fury as a missile bursts from its pod in a ball of flames. You can almost hear the thunder clap. The strange light thrown out from the launch gives the scene a greasy mechanical feel that spreads over the lone helmeted figure, who looks a little vulnerable as he sits half exposed in a sandbag shelter.  

Members of the Iranian army fire missiles during the annual military drill, dubbed “Zolphaghar 99”, in the Gulf of Oman, Iran on September 8, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

There’s no escaping the concentration and intensity on the boy’s face that Mussa Qawasma has captured in this beautifully back lit image. The rim light on the boy’s face, the glow of the sanitiser bottle and the stream of fluid from it and the momentary dance of the shadow. You can almost hear his mother’s voice: “You make sure you wash your hands properly and do exactly what the teacher says. I want you staying safe”.  Wonderful.

A Palestinian elementary school student has his hands sanitised as he sits in a classroom after schools reopened gradually amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Susya village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

Siphiwe Sibeko has taken a picture that gives us insight into an important emotional moment. We see a tiny tear, set against carefully made up eyes. This person is a volunteer for testing COVID-19 vaccines, who is being tested and then injected with the test vaccine. The probe up her nose must hurt, hence the tear? Or maybe the racing emotions of knowing that what she is just embarking on could potentially help millions or if all goes wrong, could be fatal. Read on here. 

Robyn Porteous, a vaccine trials' volunteer, is tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before being injected with a vaccine as part of the country's human clinical trial for potential vaccines at the Wits RHI Shandukani Research Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

A Week in Pictures, Middle East and Africa, September 4, 2020

At first glance Sumaya Hisham’s picture of a woman looking through a portal hole of a police van looks like a photographic cut out. I can assure you it’s not, but it is a perfectly composed image where the curves of the mask and the edge of the eye liner fit exactly  into the circle. Even though she is masked and detained her eyes still transfix the viewer with determination and strength.   

A woman is seen through the window of a police van after being detained during a protest against gender-based violence outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham 

A peaceful and calm picture by Mike Hutching is a welcome break from the manic news file over the last few weeks. The cool blue tones and the slow shutter speed give it this feeling but if  we need a little warmth the zig-zag composition of the rocks lead us out through the picture to Table Mountain and the rising sun.    

The city's iconic landmark Table Mountain is seen from Bloubergstrand during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cape Town, South Africa, August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

A small detail in a large space will always grab the eye. Add a wide difference in contrast and a splash of colour to really make a really arresting image. Mohammed Salem uses all these visual skills to draw us right in to the masked face peering into a darkened space.  It’s only the caption that informs us this is the scene of a deadly and sad house fire. 

A Palestinian man wearing a protective face mask looks through a hole in a torched house where three children of Al-Hazeen family were killed in a fire ignited by a candle used to light up their room during a power cut in the central Gaza Strip September 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Raneen Sawafta’s picture feels more than a little claustrophobic and it takes a little bit of time to see what is really going on. First you see the boot, and it looks that it is about to crush the delicate and dust covered plant. You then spot the mechanics of a weapon and then finally a face pressed into the earth.  

An Israeli soldier detains a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against Jewish settlements in Jbarah village south of Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

A simple illustrative picture by Nir Elias, the image that millions of people have shot on flights, but the importance of this is that it’s from the first flight from Israel to the UAE. The Star of David seen over these lands would have been almost impossible without this change of international policy and the move to normalise relations between the two countries. Read on here. 

A view of is seen through the window of Israeli flag carrier El Al airliner carrying a delegation of Israeli and American officials before the plane lands in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias

A gentle picture by Mohammed Salem that really caught my eye: I love the quirkiness of it as much as I like the colours. The back focus also to draw attention through the cool blues of the boy getting a hair cut in the foreground to the masked boy in red climbing the wall. Why he’s doing this we have no clue. Everyone is now masked as Gaza, previously free from COVID-19, is facing an outbreak and the numbers are spiraling.

A Palestinian boy climbs a wall as he watches a barber on a street during a power cut and a lockdown following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Gaza City August 31, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Bloodletting to this extent would often be part of a scene of an attack or a dreadful accident, but in Thaier al-Sudani’s picture it’s from the Ashura ceremony and all part of normal proceedings. Although the brightness of the red blood against the white clothing is quite striking and extends to the rear of the image, you need to take the time to look at the expression on the man’s face. Despite all the blood, there is no fear, no anguish and to me he looks quite relaxed.

A Shi'ite Muslim man bleed after hitting his forehead with sword and beating themselves during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani 

Also, part of the Ashura ceremony are re-enactments of the battle and very hard to resist this terrific picture by Alaa al-Marjani. Colour, heat, action and so much dust being thrown up as spectators watch the horses and riders from a hill. I can’t imagine what Alaa would not give for those rather annoying power lines not to be there, cutting across his picture, but hey, life is not perfect, so I will ignore them and enjoy. 

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims ride horses as they re-enact a scene from the 7th century battle of Karbala to commemorate Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the holy city of Najaf, August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani 

A clever use of a pale background image and a stroke of luck for Teba Sadiq as a man raises his cane to create a cris cross of compositional lines. The full range of tones from white to blacks with only the faintest of colour, pale yellow, set in graphic shapes also helps to make this very pleasing to the eye, that is, until you are jolted with the realisation that the image in the rear is that of a dead child.   

A Shi'ite pilgrim walks next to a drawing on the wall depicting a scene from the 7th century battle of Karbala, ahead of Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the holy city of Kerbala, Iraq, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Teba Sadiq

Baz Ratner has taken the time to prepare an image he had in mind to illustrate the impact of flooding at Lake Baringo. A sort of live before and after or a “now you see now you don’t” picture. I think what made it  even more interesting is where the photograph has been cropped off at the top in the print version, is almost at the exact level of water in the live image. Read on here.    

Camp manager, James Owuor, holds a photo showing a structure before it was submerged under rising water due to months of unusually heavy rains, in lake Baringo, Kenya, August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner 

Here are a few highlights from the last two weeks –  I wanted to include these terrific images.

A man throws a stone at a police Inyala (armoured vehicle) during a protest demanding the police account for the death of the teenage boy who was allegedly shot by the police the previous night in Eldorado park, outside Johannesburg, South Africa August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko 

A resident pours out the waters of the Blue Nile floods within the Al-Ikmayr area of Omdurman in Khartoum, Sudan August 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallahya

Khadjou Sambe, 25, Senegal's first female professional surfer, surfs during a training session off the coast of Ngor, Dakar, Senegal, August 18, 2020. "When I am in the water I feel something extraordinary, something special in my heart," said Sambe. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A flamboyance of flamingos crowds together in Lake Bogoria, in Baringo County, Kenya, August 26, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner 

Colonel Modibo Kone, one of the junta leaders of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) which overthrew Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, waves as he attends a mass rally to celebrate the coup at the Independence Square in Bamako, Mali, August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mamadou Keita 

A body of a militant is seen at the scene of an attack at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach, in Mogadishu, Somalia August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

People are pictured on the roof of a police station set on fire by protesters during a demonstration against the decision of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to run for a third term in the next presidential election, in Bonoua, Ivory Coast August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Policemen detain a demonstrator during a protest against president Alassane Ouattara's decision to stand for a third term, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

Police take cover as they are pelted with stones during a protest against racial and economic inequalities in Kayamandi township near Stellenbosch, South Africa, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Elephants are seen as they cross lake Kioko in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya, August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Supporters of the Imam Mahmoud Dicko and other opposition political parties attend a mass protest demanding the resignation of Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Bamako, Mali August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Rey Byhre

An Israeli soldier beats down smoke with a fire broom in an area that has seen blazes caused by fire balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, near Kibbutz Nir Am on the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip August 17, 2020. Picture taken August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Smoke and flare are seen in the sky, as pictured from Houla village near the Lebanese-Israeli border, in southern Lebanon, August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher 

An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel August 25, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

A Palestinian man uses his mobile phone as he sits at the doorsteps of his home on a hot day during a power cut after Gaza's lone power plant shut down amid tension with Israel, in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip August 23, 2020. Picture taken August 23, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The Iron Dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles as rockets are launched from Gaza towards Israel, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, August 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Rita Faraj Oghlo, 31, looks at her phone in her mother’s house after her family were forced to live there because their home was damaged in the Beirut port blast in Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay 

A boy jumps in the Nile River during hot weather on the outskirts of Cairo, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Cranes stand around the remains of site, that was damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port, stands in Beirut, Lebanon, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis