The Swiss government has called on Israel to lift a blockade imposed in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, which the Swiss have condemned.

The comments were made at the third session of political dialogue with Israel in Bern and follow a warning by the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the state of basic services in the Gaza Strip.

The government expressed its concern at the socio-economic developments in Gaza and urged Israel to follow humanitarian law and allow provisions and fuel into the Palestinian territory.

The ICRC said on Tuesday a shipment would be allowed into Gaza later in the day, but said aid delivered needed to be allowed into the territory on a regular basis to prevent a complete collapse of health and sanitary services.

Israel sealed Gaza on Thursday, halting fuel shipments. As a result, Gaza's only power plant, which provides electricity to about a third of Gaza's 1.5 million residents, shut down three days later.

As Israel delivered some fuel for Gaza's power plant on Tuesday, easing the blockade, a spokeswoman said the situation was still very precarious, with Gaza's hospitals pooling their fuel so that life-saving services, such as surgery and intensive care units, could be maintained.

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