A North West MEP has become the first politician from the UK to enter the Gaza Strip since the start of the latest military conflict in the region.

Euro MP Chris Davies, whose constituency includes the whole of Lancashire, has spoken of the harrowing experience of visiting the country and bombs going off near-by.

Mr Davies was among nine European politicians to cross from Egypt into the battered Palestinian enclave, which is now out of bounds to foreign journalists.

The Liberal Democrat MEP visited a UN shelter close to the Rafah border crossing, where he claimed the daily ceasefire was punctuated by Israeli shells.

He has called for action to be taken to stop Israel’s attack on the territory.

Keeping an online blog of his visit, Mr Davies spoke from the Rafah border crossing.

He said: “The earth shook each time and the explosions frightened me, but many of the children in the shelter seemed to regard them almost as part of everyday life because they were 600 metres away.”

Mr Davies said there was a real need for more than just food and medicines.

There was a plea for all the essentials of family life such as bedding and nappies Onboard a UN vehicle the group headed back to the crossing.

He said: “We walked out of the building into the throng of excited kids, mostly 7-11 year olds.

“I was struck by how many made ´V for Victory´ gestures with their fingers.

"Do the Israelis really believe that bombing urban communities and terrorising their populations is going to bring them security?

“The UN driver told us about casualties at the hospitals.

"We´re approaching 900 dead and more than 3,000 injured.”

“We got back to the crossing and left the UN vehicles.

"Back in the Rafah compound we watched as a succession of Israeli F16s crossed the sky dropping white flares of some kind.

“Donkeys pulling carts in the streets and 21st century killing machines in the air.

“Then the explosions started. One of them close enough so that journalists and ourselves started to move quickly away.

“Twenty or 30 minutes later the crossing complex started to get really busy. Ambulance after ambulance arrived from Gaza, and their occupants were transferred to Egyptian ambulances.”

Speaking on his return from the three-day visit to the Middle East, he called on the world’s “big powers” to enforce the latest UN resolution.

Mr Davies added: "Words are not enough and action is now needed to end the slaughter of innocent civilians.

“Israeli civilians have the right not to live in fear of rocket attacks from Hamas, but their current offensive will not work and is killing unacceptable numbers of innocent people.”