Israel denies Red Cross access to health sites in Gaza, health ministry says 

Gaza's Ministry of Health has said that Israel is preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from accessing certain health facilities in the Gaza Strip. 

The ministry said that it has requested that the ICRC, which has offices in Gaza, be allowed to safely visit local health facilities to "evaluate the humanitarian crisis" and "assess critical shortages in medications and supplies". 

But "permission to access these areas has not been granted by Israel to the representatives of the ICRC office", the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry said it is particularly concerned over clinics and other health facilities that have been directly or indirectly hit by Israeli air strikes. On Monday, one strike took out Gaza's main Covid-19 testing site.  

Earlier on Tuesday, Robert Mardini, director-general of the ICRC, said that the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) had been hit by an Israeli air strike. 

"Luckily all @QRCS staff are safe. But all steps must be taken to ensure medical infrastructures & staff are protected," Mardini said on Twitter. "This incident will only hinder humanitarian response at this critical time".

On Monday, the local ICRC branch warned that the current "intensity of the conflict is something we have not seen before". 

"For people in Gaza, access to hospitals and other vital infrastructure has become extremely difficult," the group said.