The story behind this image is making headlines all over the world

Air strikes in Syria happen almost daily.

The rest of the world has become so desensitised to it we barely notice when we hear news anchors rattling off the latest death doll in the war-torn region.

But a chilling photo of a little boy is changing that.

The youngster, just five years old, is covered in dust and blood, his eyes glassy as he sits on the garish orange ambulance chair.

According to the Telegraph, the shell-shocked boy is Omran Daqneesh – one of five children injured by an air strike in Aleppo, Syria. One woman and two young men were also injured.

The harrowing image of little Omran has been shared thousands of time on social media after a journalist in the Middle East, Raf Sanchez, tweeted it, prompting news organisations the world over the name him “the face of Aleppo”.

A video shows how he was pulled from the rubble of what may once have been his home in the Qaterji neighbourhood.

In the back of the ambulance he seems totally unaware of the blood seeping from his forehead.

After a while he raises his little hand as if to sweep dust from his eye, his palm coming away blood smeared. He inspects his hand dumbly, and tries to wipe the blood away on the seat.

The video of the attacks, which happened on Wednesday night, appears to show rescuers pulling Omran from the rubble.

The boy is chillingly silent the entire time.

المشاهد الأولية للقصف الجوي على حي القاطرجي شرقي #حلب مساء اليوم.#AleppoAMC http://pic.twitter.com/NDcaWNdLvK

— مركز حلب الإعلامي (@AleppoAMC) August 17, 2016

He was whisked off to the M10 hospial, where doctors treated his head injury. He was released a few hours later. It’s unlear whether his parents were among the victims.

Syrians are tweeting Omran's picture as they ask why the world is doing nothing about the killing in #Aleppo http://pic.twitter.com/ioXM3Tgmke

— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) August 18, 2016

Sanchez reports it was a Russian or an Assad regime strike.

According to CNN, thousands of people in the northern Syrian city have died during the country’s civil war. But bombings have intensified in the rebel-held Qaterji neighborhood in eastern Aleppo in recent weeks.

Omran’s dust- and blood-caked little face has touched hearts all over the world, but Sanchez puts it into perspective – there are thousands of children who’ve experienced Omran’s horror. And worse.

“Tomorrow there will, no doubt, be more strikes and more children like Omran will be hurt.” 

Sources: Telegraph, Time, CNN, The Guardian

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