A CNN presenter fought back tears as she narrated the distressing story of a five-year-old Syrian boy who appeared dazed and bloodied after yet another bomb attack.

The footage of Omran Daqneesh sat in the chair of an ambulance and covered in dust after being pulled from the rubble of a building, has moved people across the world and has became a symbol of the suffering of children in Syria.

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan opened her segment with a still image of the boy sat in the ambulance chair as she gave the total number of children who have lost their lives in five years of conflict in Aleppo alone: 4,500.

Her voice cracked as she said: “There are no tears here. He doesn't cry once. That boy is in total shock."

Omran was caught up in a military attack on the rebel-held area of the Qaterji neighbourhood besieged by air strikes in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, a number of readers have contacted Times of Malta newsroom calling upon the government, the Church, or NGOs to facilitate online donations to war-torn areas in Syria.

"Shock, disbelief and sorrow quickly but deeply sink in the viewer's mind and soul. For sometimes, it needs an image like this, to shake off the human being from his world of materialism and the daily routine of life," reader Jason Grech said.

"More often then not, miskin [poor kid] is the first word uttered. Unfortunately this will not help much."