Journalists Banned From Covering Gaza Strip

More than 50 journalists have sent an open letter calling on Israel and Egypt to provide "free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media".

In the letter, the 55 journalists write that "foreign reporters are still being denied access to the territory, outside of the rare and escorted trips with the Israeli military".

The letter is signed by correspondents and presenters for broadcasters with UK bases, including the BBC's Jeremy Bowen, Lyse Doucet and Mishal Husain.

It says the need for comprehensive on-the-ground reporting is "imperative".

Israel's military says its troops have taken journalists on escorted trips in Gaza to allow them to report safely.

Palestinian journalists and media workers have reported from inside Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October, but dozens have been killed, injured or gone missing.

The escorted trips are highly controlled and often only to show tunnels that the military says are used by Hamas or weapons stores.