Distance is usually the necessary factor in gaining perspective on a situation that seems just too massive to cope with. Distance is exactly what astronauts in the International Space Station have and, unsurprisingly, their perspective is radical.

As the ISS was passing over Israel and Gaza, German flight engineer Alexander Gerst snapped this photo and captioned it his “saddest photo yet.”

It shows just how many explosions and rockets are flying through the night sky.

His photo quickly went viral on the internet as he tweeted the message: “My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel.”

Tens of thousands around the world shared the image as international pressure grows to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.

The UN Human Rights Council says there is a “strong possibility” Israel is guilty of war crimes in Gaza, where some 715 Palestinians, including 165 children, have died in the fighting.

It also condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars by the Islamist movement Hamas into Israel, where 34 lives have been lost.

Amazing what perspective can show. There are no borders from space – just massive destruction.

Check out more on this escalating situation from Sky News.