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In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

Shattered rooms in Gaza show Israeli attacks’ toll on children

More than 250 Palestinians, including 66 children, killed by Israeli air attacks.

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Shrouq al-Masri, nine, and her four-year-old sister Razan stand in their bedroom that was badly damaged by an Israeli air raid destroyed a neighbouring building in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
By AP
Published On 2 Jun 20212 Jun 2021

The latest aggression on Gaza is over for now but its wreckage litters the bedroom of nine-year-old Shrouq al-Masri and her four-year-old sister, Razan.

Their toys are coated with dust, the ceiling is bent and buckled, and the cracks in the walls slice through the cartoon characters that decorated them.

The sisters survived the early morning air raid that destroyed a nearby building on May 19, two days before a ceasefire.

But like so many children in Gaza, they will carry the memory of its horrors and devastation.

The 11-day conflict was the fourth between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.

It featured the same waves of predawn Israeli air raids, the same rocket fire out of the impoverished territory, and the same lopsided casualty toll, with Palestinians making up the vast majority of the more than 250 killed.

And like the others, it took a heavy toll on children. At least 66 Palestinian children were killed, as well as a five-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl on the Israeli side.

Countless more were kept awake all night by explosions.

Mahmoud al-Masri, 14, stands in his bedroom that was damaged when an Israeli air raid destroyed the neighbouring building, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
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Four-year-old Mohammad Ismail sits in his bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed a nearby building, in Maghazi, Gaza Strip. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Awny Abed, six, and his five-year-old brother Salem, right, stand in their bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed the neighbouring building, in Maghazi. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Batul al-Masri, five, and her siblings stand in their bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed a nearby building, in Beit Hanoun. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Issat al-Masri, 18, stands in his bedroom that was damaged by Israeli shelling, in Beit Hanoun. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Abu Amsha, six, sits in his bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed the neighbouring building, in Beit Hanoun. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
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Yassin Sabit, 16, and his brother Saif, right, 14, sit in their bedroom that was damaged by Israeli attacks, in Maghazi. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Ibrahim al-Masri, 10, in his bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed the neighbouring building, in Beit Hanoun. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Amal Nassir, 11, in the bedroom that was damaged by an Israeli air raid, in Beit Hanoun. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Anas Alhaj Ahmed, four, stands in his bedroom that was damaged when an air raid destroyed a nearby building, in Maghazi. [John Minchillo/AP Photo]

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