A convoy of 12 British doctors working with Palestine International Medical Aid (PIMA) was last night stranded at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Director of PIMA, Bradford doctor Ahmed Almari, who organised the convoy, has called on British and Egyptian authorities to help their entry into Gaza.

Dr Almari said the doctors, who are carrying £200,000 of donated medical equipment, including breathing apparatus and operating instruments, had already wasted five days of a two-week visit.

The former consultant radiologist at Bradford Royal Infirmary said: “It is a very difficult situation and it is something political preventing them entering, but we are not politicians, we are doctors and we do not accept any political reason for refusing them entry to Gaza.”