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Huda, 7, lost her parents and three brothers in the Israeli beach attack. (Reuters).
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BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip – "Don's leave me," cried 7-year-old Huda Ghalya while bidding farewell to her mother, father and three siblings who were killed by Israeli artillery fire on a Gaza beach.
"Father, father, forgive me," said a tearful Huda while kneeling to kiss her father's face at the stark cemetery in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, reported Reuters.
The child fainted several times, only to be roused by women relatives who splashed water and perfume on her face.
Ghalya's parents and three brothers, aged one, three and ten, were among seven Palestinians killed on Friday, June 9, while enjoying a picnic on a beach in northern Gaza.
She was swimming when her family died yards away onshore by the Israeli artillery fire.
Thousands of Palestinians mourners attended the funeral procession of the slain family.
Many children from the Ghalya family's neighborhood also attended the funeral.
"I do not want to go to the beach," one boy told another as they stood to watch the bodies brought to the family house for farewell.
Israeli Crime
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"What did she do to deserve that? This is without a doubt a crime against humanity," Abbas said.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh pledged to take care of the 7-year-old girl, including all her living and education expenses.
"From now on I consider this child as my own daughter," said Abbas as he received the young girl in his Gaza office.
"This child lost her entire family. What did she do to deserve that? This is without a doubt a crime against humanity," he stressed.
Israel Radio said Defense Minister Amir Peretz had sent a message to Abbas voicing "deep regret at the deaths of innocent people".
But the Israeli army has refused to accept responsibility for the strike, saying an investigation is ongoing.
The beach massacre capped an upsurge of bloodshed in Gaza where seven other Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in less than 24 hours.
The Israeli government claimed that the attacks meant to stop Palestinians from launching rockets at Israeli targets.
In the latest Israeli escalations, two members of Hamas' s armed wing Ezz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades were killed in northern Gaza early on Sunday, June 11, in an Israeli air strike.
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