– ‘Tragic victims’ –
At the Shifa hospital, the cousins were lined up side-by-side in front of relatives overwhelmed by grief.
Seven-year-old Wissam’s eyes were still open – he looked to be staring into the distance.
Their deaths came after those of another four children, killed as they played on the beach in Gaza City in strikes witnessed by journalists staying at a beachfront hotel.
Ahed Atef Bakr, aged 10, Zakaria Ahed Bakr, also 10, Mohamed Ramez Bakr, nine, and Ismail Mohamed Bakr, 11, were also cousins.
Relatives said they too had sought to escape the stifling confines of their homes in Shati refugee camp.
Two strikes hit the areas where they were playing.
The first scattered the crowd of adults and children who were next to straw beach huts.
A second followed as they ran along the sand in fear.
The Israeli army later said that a preliminary investigation showed the children were the “tragic” victims of a strike targeting “Hamas terrorist operatives”.
A senior army official said on Saturday that the military was “sorry” about the deaths of women and children.
“When you fight there are mistakes,” he said.
Gaza is home to 1.8 million people, one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Israel alleges that Hamas uses the population as a human shield and fires rockets from civilian areas and infrastructure.
Weibel said the number of children among the dead in Gaza was of “deep concern” to UNICEF.
“Children should be protected from the violence, and they should not be the victims of a conflict for which they have no responsibility,” she told AFP.
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