Sergei Ilnitsky of Russia, a photographer working for the European Pressphoto Agency, has won the second prize in the Sports Action Stories category.

A picture showing a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City has been named as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012.

The photograph, taken by Paul Hansen of the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, shows the children’s bodies being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher.

Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother, Muhammad, were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care.

The picture was taken last November 20 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

The international jury of the 56th annual World Press Photo Contest gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 33 nationalities.

Peruvian jury member Mayu Mohanna said of Mr Hansen’s winning picture: “The strength of the picture lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children. It’s a picture I will not forget.”

Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press, spoke of the selection of prize winners: “When I look at the results, as chair of the jury, I think that the World Press Photo of the Year, and all the other photos that were given prizes, were solid, stellar examples of first-rate photojournalism that is powerful, that is lasting and that will reach whoever looks at them.”

All entries were anonymously presented to the jury, who discussed their merits over a two-week period. The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. By the mid-January deadline, 103,481 images had been submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries.

The prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting more than 100 cities in over 45 countries. The first 2013 World Press Photo exhibition opens in Amsterdam on April 26.