The misery of Palestinians in Gaza has been brought home to the UK after a Yorkshire man lost 11 members of his family to a single Israeli air strike.

Musheir El-Farrah, a civil engineer from Sheffield, learned on Friday morning that his cousin's home in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, was hit by a warplane overnight.

Five children, aged from four to 15, are among the dead. Five of Mr El-Farrah's relatives - including his cousin Mahmoud El-Farra - are fighting for their lives in intensive care.

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Musheir El-Farrah holds printed photographs of his relatives who were killed in an Israeli air strike last week

'I found out at 7am on Friday through a Facebook message from a friend that 11 members of my family had been killed,' said Mr El-Farrah.

'They all died at around 3.45am on Friday morning. They were in bed sleeping when the first missile hit and so they were trying to get to safety.

'They ran and they were hit outside the building where they live. They were all still in their pyjamas and nighties when they were killed.'

The El-Farrahs were killed in a flurry of Israeli air strikes just over an hour before a ceasefire was due to temporarily halt the relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

'It's absolutely terrible. The school that the children attend is due to hold a ceremony to remember them. It is just so sad,' said Mr El-Farrah.

'On the same day 26 others were killed. These are innocent people trying to go about their own lives. They have no connection with these killers.

How much more do these people have to suffer?

'The rest of the neighbourhood is so scared that people are afraid to even leave their homes.

'I was born in this town, Khan Younis, and it's extremely worrying. It's no longer the place it used to be.

'It's a constant worry, especially with the rest of my extended family living out there. How much more do these innocent people have to suffer?

'They have cut off the water and electricity, meaning what lives they do have are affected.

'I spoke to one relative the other day who had queued for three hours just to get ten litres. That is for the whole of his family.

'It really is catastrophic circumstances and they are being collectively punished.'

Left, Nadine El-Farrah in an old photograph. She was 15 when she died. Right, Yara El-Farrah was just eight

Left, Muhammad El-Farra who was 11 years old. Right, four-year-old Lujaine El-Farra

Left, Abdul Malik El-Farra, 62. Right, Imad El Farra, a cousin who was killed while trying to help the injured

Israel's global standing has taken a nose dive after nearly 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the 27 days that its forces have waged war on the besieged territory.

With public opinion turning against the Jewish state, even the leaders of usually staunch allies such as the U.S., Britain and France have felt compelled to condemn attacks on UN-run facilities which have offered sanctuary to Gazans fleeing Israeli bombs.

Israeli leaders say the campaign will not stop until militant groups linked to Hamas, the Islamist party that runs Gaza, stop firing rockets over the border. Rockets and mortar attacks from Gaza have killed three Israeli civilians during the current campaign.

Hamas has refused to give up its attacks until Israel lifts a seven-year-long blockade which effectively cut Gaza off from the world and frees thousands of prisoners held in 'administrative detention' in Israeli jails.

Palestinians collect the dead in the village of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, on Friday

Ninety UN-run schools are providing shelter to 270,000 Palestinians ordered to leave their homes before Israeli troops marched into Gaza, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

UNRWA, which organises humanitarian relief for Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, has warned that its staff and operations 'are at breaking point'.

Mr El-Farrah says he has lost relatives to Israeli military action before, but never on such a scale. The five children of his family killed were Nadine El-Farra, 15, Muhammad El-Farra, 11, Yara El-Farra, eight, Abdul Rahman El-Farra, eight, and Lujaine El-Farra, four.

'Initially nine of them died and others died later in hospital. Five of them were children.

'People in the neighbourhood came out to carry the dead, and they were injured and killed between the second and third missiles.

'These people have the most sophisticated weapons with the most sophisticated viewing equipment.