Palestine campaigners have launched a sleep-out in Manchester city centre in support of the 108,000 Gazans who had their homes destroyed during Israel’s 52-day assault on the strip.

Activists have been camped out at a police-authorised site near Kadem Cosmetics, an Israeli-owned shop using goods from the Occupied Territories, since Monday morning.

The shop has been a regular target of boycott campaigners, who say that purchasing Kedem products provides financial support to the Israeli military.

Mohammed Ghaleiny, a Gazan living in Britain, said: “Like most families in Gaza, many of my relatives had their homes destroyed and one attack killed nine members of my extended family.

“Manchester Palestine Action are doing this sleep-out to highlight the fact that even though the Israeli bombardment has ceased for now there is a dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“Tens of thousands are without adequate shelter and the whole population of Gaza is suffering from severe water, electricity, food and medicine shortages. Even those sheltering in hospitals and UN schools were bombed.”

During the sleep-out activists will read out the names of Palestinian children killed during Israel’s six-week assault and give educational talks.

Manchester Palestine Action’s Sally Pinder said: “We can no longer turn our backs on the Palestinians like the British government has for so many years.

“Israel’s crimes of ethnic cleansing, military occupation and mass murder of the Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of Palestine could not continue without British support and complicit companies in the UK.

“Boycott, divestment and sanctions is a non-violent grass-roots campaign to hold Israel to account for the decades of brutality against the Palestinians.”

A long-term truce was agreed last week after the Israeli attack left over 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and including more than 460 children, dead compared to 72, mostly military, Israeli deaths.