Its most absorbing qualities are emotion, authenticity and foreign appeal. Emotion is unquestionably the most powerful element. It is a slice of humanity. Any person should be capable of feeling a connection to these people and feel sorrow for their pain.
The caption state the photo was taken in 2006. Even if the view has no background knowledge of the photo, from an American standpoint, it would still be particularly interesting because of the wars in the Middle East. The scene also appears to have had little to absolutely no manipulation or influence on the part of the photographer.
I believe the photo's weaknesses are in composition and lighting. Lighting is only a small issue because everyone's features can clearly be seen. However, not much else can be seen. There is no idea of where the setting is because the background is so dark. Composition is the most distracting issue. It seems that the photo was meant to be a close up, showing personal features in grief. However, there are possibly too many subjects in the photo. I do not know where I should look. It is also distracting how much clothing is in the picture. Some of their faces are even blocked (not purposely) by it. If you really look at the photo, half the frame is wasted with clothing.
I was struck by how none of these "issues" no longer distracted me once I read some background information on the photo. It was taken at a funeral for the subject's relatives, who were killed after an Israel tank's shell hit their home in the Gaza Strip. It's a deeply moving image, but context gives it that much more meaning.
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