Hamas willing to talk with Israel to avert humanitarian crisis

"We as an occupied people are ready to talk to all sides in order to receive aid," said Palestinian health minister Bassem Naim.

"This is not to say that we recognize the occupier but our dealings with the other side would be as an occupied people," he said after meetings with Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa in Cairo.

The Palestinian Authority is in severe financial crisis after the European Union and United States halted direct aid to its Hamas-led government on the grounds that the Islamist movement does not recognise Israel, refuses to renounce violence or abide by previous peace agreements.

Israel has also suspended the payment of customs duties levied on goods that pass through its borders en route to the Gaza Strip or West Bank since the Islamist group won a massive victory in a Palestinian election last January.

Naim warned of a "humanitarian and health disaster" if crossings are not opened to allow humanitarian and medical assistance into the Palestinian territories.