(JTA) — Pulitzer Prizes were awarded Monday to reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that have become steeped in controversy since their publication, including a nonfiction book by Jewish author Nathan Thrall and breaking-news reporting and photography of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks by Reuters and The New York Times.

The Pulitzer board also presented a special citation to journalists covering the war from Gaza, noting that “an extraordinary number have died” while doing so. 

Thrall, a Bard College professor based in Jerusalem whose work is often highly critical of Israel, won the Pulitzer for general nonfiction for his book “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy.” Published days before Oct. 7, the book focuses on a Palestinian father’s efforts to uncover news about his son following a bus crash; the Pulitzer jury called it “a finely reported and intimate account of life under Israeli occupation of the West Bank.” The book also focuses on several Israeli characters whose lives intersect with Salama’s.

Reuters won in the breaking news photography category for its of-the-moment images of the beginning of the Oct. 7 attacks. Since the newswire published the images, it faced accusations from a pro-Israel media advocacy group that its photography staff had advance knowledge of the attacks, a charge the company has denied.

The Pulitzer jury did not mention the controversy in its citation, which praised Reuters for “raw and urgent photographs documenting the October 7th deadly attack in Israel by Hamas and the first weeks of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza.”

Staff at the Times won the Pulitzer for international reporting for a series of reports on the attacks and Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, including work focusing on the intelligence failures of Israel’s military and the ways in which its government had propped up Hamas for years, as well as its strategy of bombing areas where it had instructed Gazan civilians to flee.

The Pulitzer jury did not cite “Screams Without Words,” a controversial Times report about rapes allegedly committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, in its comments. Published in December, the story has drawn criticism from pro-Palestinian media outlets that questioned the Times’ sources and from survivors and family members who said the paper’s characterization of what happened to people they knew was not true. The criticism led to a high-profile newsroom leak of internal debate over the piece and also has helped fuel some denials that Hamas committed rape during the attacks.

While Thrall’s book predates the Oct. 7 attack, his book tour was conducted in its shadow and has been a frequent magnet for controversy. Some tour stops canceled planned talks by Thrall, saying they would be “insensitive” in the midst of Israel’s war, in a sign of how the broader arts and culture landscape has been divided over Israel since the attacks. After the book’s publication, a local Jewish federation protested Thrall’s plan to teach a Bard course on whether Israel’s treatment of Palestinians could be considered apartheid.

At least one media outlet also canceled a planned sponsorship by his publisher, while Thrall himself turned down a speaking engagement at the University of Arkansas after the school, in accordance with state law, required him to sign a pledge promising not to boycott Israel. Thrall is currently in Berlin, where he said the Open Society Foundation, funded by progressive Jewish megadonor George Soros, paid to distribute free copies of his book.

Elsewhere in the awards, the Pulitzer committee honored Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian Jewish dissident, with the prize for commentary. Kara-Murza, who has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year for treason and won the Pulitzer from his cell.

“Here There Are Blueberries,” a play by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich that draws on real Nazi photographs of Auschwitz acquired by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum, was a finalist in the drama category but did not win. The show premiered at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2022 and is currently playing at the New York Theatre Workshop. And in the memoir category, Jewish author Andrew Leland’s “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight” was also a finalist.

The Pulitzers are overseen by the journalism school at Columbia University, which has been at the epicenter of a nationwide campus pro-Palestinian encampment movement and which canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony earlier on Monday in the wake of the protests. Several days before announcing the awards, the Pulitzer committee also issued a special acknowledgement of student journalists covering the campus protests.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Tuesday that it has gained operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing.

The IDF released a statement saying its forces began a “precise counterterrorism operation” in eastern Rafah.

Acting upon intelligence showing the area was being used for “terrorist purposes,” IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing, the statement said.

Intelligence gathered by the IDF and the Israel Securities Authority prompted the operation aimed at killing Hamas terrorists and dismantling “Hamas terrorist infrastructure within specific areas of eastern Rafah.”

ISRAEL BEGINS ‘TARGETED’ STRIKES AGAINST HAMAS IN RAFAH

Before the operation, the IDF urged residents in eastern Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, where the IDF facilitated the expansion of field hospitals and tents, and increased water, food and medical supplies. International organizations working in the area were also encouraged to temporarily evacuate before the operation began.

“Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes, IDF troops managed to establish operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing,” the IDF said. “On Sunday, mortars were fired from the area of the Rafah Crossing toward the area of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.”

Four IDF soldiers were killed during the operation and several others were injured after the mortars were fired.

ISRAEL URGES PALESTINIANS TO EVACUATE RAFAH AHEAD OF EXPECTED GROUND OPERATION IN HAMAS STRONGHOLD

The IDF said it began a “precise counterterrorism operation” in the eastern Rafah area. (IDF)

“Furthermore, as part of the operational activity, IDF ground troops and [Israeli Air Force] fighter jets struck and eliminated Hamas terror targets in the Rafah area, including military structures, underground infrastructure, and additional terrorist infrastructure from which Hamas operated in the Rafah area,” the IDF said.

Since the operation began, about 20 Hamas terrorists have been killed and three operational tunnel shafts have been found. No injuries were reported, the IDF said.

The IDF said ground troops are “continuing to operate against Hamas terrorist operatives and infrastructure in the area of the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah.”

There is no timeline for how long the operation will last and it is unclear if the crossing is open for humanitarian aid.

Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

The Jewish Community in Austria has reported a rise in antisemitic incidents across the country. In Vienna, graffiti has recently appeared on the facades of Jewish businesses in the second and 20th districts, with slogans like “Death to Zionism” and “Victory to Palestine.”

In response, National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka, along with Israel’s Ambassador to Austria David Roet and President of the Israelite Religious Society Austria Oskar Deutsch, took action by painting over the graffiti in Vienna-Leopoldstadt, the heart of Jewish life in Austria.

Under the leadership of Austrian Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler, the third European Conference on Antisemitism is taking place in Vienna on May 6th and 7th, 2024. This high-profile event convenes international experts to discuss strategies for combating antisemitism and promoting Jewish life in Europe.

The conference addresses the surge in both online and offline antisemitism following the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, as well as concerning incidents at American universities. Notably, American and European experts are collaborating for the first time, with the participation of the US government’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt.

Dalia Grinfeld, Deputy Director of European Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, is hosting the conference at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. The opening session features remarks from President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Heinz Faßmann and Federal Minister Edtstadler.