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.