Two young children have lost most of their family in a tragic seaside incident.
A fundraising effort is now under way to help cover the cost of repatriating and laying their loved ones to rest in Lebanon, as well as supporting the siblings after the deaths of their parents and two sisters, who died after being pulled from the sea in Shoreham-by-Sea.
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Hassan El-Khawas, 55, Zeina Alayn, 37, Sara El-Khawas, 14, and Saja El-Khawas, six, all died in the tragedy, which Sussex Police believe was a "tragic accident."
The family were visiting the West Sussex coast from London and had entered the water near Shoreham Fort at around 2pm before they got into difficulty.
Adnan Hmidan, chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said: "The Palestinian, Arab and wider community in Britain, along with the many friends and supporters of our community, have been deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic incident."
Although the family lived in the UK, relatives have chosen to repatriate the bodies to Lebanon, where Hassan El-Khawas was originally from.
Mr Hmidan said that despite the victims being British citizens, the difficulties and complexities involved in obtaining UK visitor visas for relatives abroad made it extremely challenging for family members to travel to Britain at such a painful and time-sensitive moment.
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