“Based on the assurances UNRWA in Gaza received from different local parties, the Agency will reopen its installations across the Gaza Strip effective today, Tuesday 9 April,” UNRWA said in a statement.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been demonstrating outside the UNRWA office in Gaza since last week, in response to a programme cut necessitated by budget shortfalls according to the agency.

Protests against the cuts turned violent on 4 April, when demonstrators stormed the UNRWA office in Gaza, leading to the closure of all relief and distribution centers, which together provide food to more than 800,000 Gazans altogether.

“UNRWA was forced to close its distribution and relief offices last week due to ongoing demonstrations that affected its operations, a regrettable decision that hindered the Agency’s ability to provide much needed services and relief supplies to Palestine refugees in Gaza,” UNRWA said.

“While UNRWA understands the frustration of the population, heightened by the tightened blockade on the Gaza Strip, and respects the right to peaceful demonstrations, UNRWA must ensure the safety and security of its staff. UNRWA in Gaza reaffirms that while it is re-opening these facilities now, if its staff or facilities are threatened or operations hindered by demonstrations in the future, it will again be forced to close those installations.”

UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

Gaza’s problems in water and electricity, education and health will only get worse over the coming years unless remedial action is taken now, a senior United Nations official warned on Monday.

“Gaza will have half a million more people by 2020 while its economy will grow only slowly. In consequence, the people of Gaza will have an even harder time getting enough drinking water and electricity, or sending their children to school,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory, Maxwell Gaylard.

Mr. Gaylard’s comments came as he, together with Jean Gough of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Robert Turner of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), launched a new UN report that summarizes trends in Gaza and forecasts for the year 2020.

According to the report, Gaza’s population will increase from 1.6 million people today to 2.1 million people in 2020, resulting in a density of more than 5,800 people per square kilometre.

“The substantial population growth rate will thus add some 500,000 people to a living area which is restricted and already heavily urbanized. Fundamental infrastructure in electricity, water and sanitation, municipal and social services, is struggling to keep pace with the needs of the growing population,” it states.

“By 2020, electricity provision will need to double to meet demand, damage to the coastal aquifer will be irreversible without immediate remedial action, and hundreds of new schools and expanded health services will be needed for an overwhelmingly young population,” the report adds. “Tens of thousands of housing units are needed today.”

In addition, Gaza’s economy is expected to grow modestly and people will likely still be worse off in 2015 compared to the mid-1990s, despite fast economic growth last year.

“The challenges will only become more acute, particularly if the current political status quo continues. Even if the political situation were to improve dramatically over the next years, the issues identified in this study would still need to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the report notes.

Gaza remains subject to severe restrictions on imports, exports and the movement of people, by land, air and sea, as a result of the blockade Israel imposed on the area for what it called security reasons after the Hamas group, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement in the Strip in 2007.

“The viability of a future Palestinian state depends on a proper connection between the West Bank and Gaza, providing access to the Mediterranean for the entire occupied Palestinian territory,” the report states.

Some 12,500 tons of wheat flour will be delivered over the next eight weeks, with the first shipment arriving today, and will feed about 687,000 people, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a news release.

“The Palestine refugees we serve are grateful for this generous donation,” said UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi. “The need for this aid is clear with food insecurity currently threatening 60 per cent of Gazans.”

Five years ago, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza for what it called security reasons after the Hamas group, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement from the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Since the tightening of the Israeli blockade, unemployment has skyrocketed in the territory, as imports, exports, and job opportunities have slowed or come to a complete halt. Currently, 34 per cent of Gazans are unemployed and 70 per cent of refugees are reliant on UNRWA aid, the agency said.

In addition to in-kind contributions of food, Turkey also provides financial support to UNRWA. Since 2009, the Turkish Government has more than doubled its contribution to the agency, reaching an annual sum of $1.25 million this year. Turkey also chairs the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA in New York, and is a member of the Advisory Commission comprising UNRWA’s major governmental supporters.

Established in 1949, UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some five million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, said in a statement that more than 80 per cent of families in Gaza are dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, Gaza remains subject to severe restrictions on imports, exports and the movement of people, by land, air and sea.

“This amounts to a collective punishment of all those living in Gaza and is a denial of basic human rights in contravention of international law,” stated Ms. Amos, who also serves as the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza for what it called security reasons after the Hamas group, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement in the Strip in 2007.

“While some steps have been taken to ease its impact, it is vital that the blockade be lifted immediately, so that essential services and infrastructure can be maintained,” Ms. Amos said.

The UN relief chief also noted that the opportunity to develop a sustainable economy would also reduce dependence on humanitarian assistance.

“The rights of all civilians, Palestinian and Israeli, must be protected and respected at all times, within the framework of international law,” she said. “All have a right to live free from the fear of indiscriminate violence and to live in peace, security and dignity.”

Senior UN officials as well as the diplomatic Quartet – comprising the UN, European Union, Russia and the United States – have repeatedly called over the past years for an end to the blockade, stating that while efforts to ease the closure were welcome, a full and immediate lifting was needed.

Reports coming from the besieged Palestinian territory said a truck carrying 2,000 pieces of clothing, predominantly wool, took the shipment headed to the UK to nearby sea port of Ashdod, according to the Arabian Gazette.

Israel first imposed a blockade on Gaza in June 2006 after Palestinian militants captured soldier Gilad Shalit but it has been under tighter embargo by both Israel and Egypt since Hamas took control Gaza  in 2007. Before the 2007 coup, Gaza’s exports totalled 86 truckloads a day on average, with more than 85 percent of its products going to the West Bank.

Since the beginning of 2012, Israel has allowed Gaza to export an average of two truckloads a day, but only to markets abroad, meaning Palestinians must pay high transportation costs to reach overseas markets where demand for Gaza’s products is low, according to Haaretz.

British Minister for International Development Alan Duncan MP said: “Through trade, we can help Gaza rebuild its economy, providing opportunities for Gazans to pull themselves out of poverty and creating a safer and more secure environment for the Palestinians and for Israel,” according to Reuters.

“While I am pleased that the UK has supported this important development for Gazan business, it is my hope that we quickly reach a state where there is no longer a need for such assistance, because sustained exports from Gaza will be the norm,” he added.

There was no sign of when the next shipment of clothing would be let out of Gaza while traders are still awaiting an Israeli deal to let them begin exporting furniture.

The Muslim Brotherhood has previously stated that it aims to open the Egyptian border with Gaza to commerce by opening Rafah border, a shift that would change the life for Palestinians there.

Aiming to ease power shortages in Gaza, the Brotherhood recently tried to reach deal with the Egyptian government to supply fuel for the territory’s sole power station, but wiht no result.