Members of an Asian aid convoy attempting to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip said Thursday that Egyptian authorities granted visas to 120 of its activists, but refused entry to its Iranian members.

Cairo denied entry to seven Iranian members of parliament on board. Several activists, from over 18 countries, were also denied entry.

'From 160 activists of Asia2gaza, only 120 members got Egypt visa,' according to the group, which is formally called The Asia to Gaza Caravan, on its Twitter page.

Egypt's approval is required to reach the Gaza Strip through the shared Rafah crossing, particularly since Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip was tightened after Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.

The convoy, which started in India and passed through Iran, Turkey and Syria, is scheduled to deliver on Sunday 10 generators donated by the Iranians, along with medical and food supplies. The amount of aid allowed into Gaza this time is well below the 300 tons the convoy had hoped for, according to Palestinian officials in touch with the activists.

The Asia to Gaza Caravan had planned to deliver the aid - after nearly 7,000 kilometres of travel - on December 28, which would have marked the second anniversary of the start of hostilities between Israel and Islamist militants working in the strip.

Some 1,400 Palestinians, many of them civilians, were killed in the conflict in the densely populated coastal enclave.

More than 80 per cent of Gaza Strip's 1.5 million inhabitants still depend on humanitarian aid as their conditions continue to stagnate, according to a recent statement by the United Nations relief agency in the Middle East.