The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) chief and staff should be able to visit the agency's fields of operation, including in Gaza, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Tuesday.

Patel said the free movement of international workers is a key part of the humanitarian response, and the United States would continue to work with Israel and other appropriate interlocutors to push for that after UNRWA and Egypt said Israel had denied the head of the refugee agency entry to the Gaza Strip on Monday.

This is a developing story.