The 10-member delegation entered the Gaza Strip via the crossing and was received by the United Nations bureau in Gaza, a Hamas spokesperson said.
He added that the Irish minister was on his first visit to Gaza and wanted to see firsthand how volatile the situation was in the region.
The Irish minister was expected to visit several sites operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza. Local media sources reported that Martin was not expected to meet anyone from Hamas, which controls the region.
Several western officials have visited Gaza since the war last winter, but Martin is only the second European minister to visit the region after Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in February 2009. Bildt also did not meet any Hamas officials.
On Sunday Martin condemned Israel for denying him entry into Gaza via the Erz crossing point in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, claiming no clear reason was given for the decision.
Martin's visit to the Gaza Strip was arranged by the UNRWA, and he will be visiting hospitals, schools as well as destroyed cities and towns in order to understand the real situation Gazans are living in.
