OCCUPIED JERUSAELM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has agreed to allow two senior international officials to visit the Gaza Strip via the Erez crossing to the north of the Strip.

The Israeli foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it would allow UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to visit Gaza via Erez in response to their requests to get first hand information on the humanitarian conditions in the Strip.

The ministry noted that the decision was made despite earlier decisions not to allow any foreign dignitaries into the Strip through Erez so as not to be interpreted as recognition of the Hamas government.

There was no official announcement on the date of the two visits but the ministry said that Ashton would enter Gaza during her visit to Israel next week while Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in the region within the few coming weeks.