Gazans attending one funeral after another feel abandoned

As Areej al-Qadi tearfully kissed the bodies of her three young children killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza, another mourner lashed out at leaders for not ending the war.

Gazans attending one funeral after another after more than a year of devastating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas feel abandoned and angry that their pleas for help have gone largely unanswered.

Qadi said her son Abdul Aziz, 7, killed along with his brother Hamza, 5 and sister Laila, 3, while they played outside in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, had wanted to be an astronaut.

"He said to me 'I hope a rocket comes and I can go to the moon'. He didn't realise that the rocket would come and tear him up into pieces," she said.

Israel says it goes to great lengths to protect civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields. Hamas denies that and accuses Israel of indiscriminate bombing, charges Israel, in turn, denies.

The United States and other countries have sent aid to Gaza and tried to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"What right does America have, talking about democracy, justice and equality? said displaced mourner Ra'fat al-Shaer. "Also a message to the Arab world, to the heads of the Arab nations. How long will this continue?"

People like Mahmoud Bin Hassan al-Thalatha, the father of the three children he said were killed along with other innocent people on a bustling street, say their only recourse is prayer.

"My children were martyred, the people walking were martyred, and the stall vendor was martyred while he was sitting down, they were all martyred. May God have mercy on them."