The UN relief agency on Thursday said it needs 20 million U.S. dollars urgently to keep a food program running for the Palestinian refugees in Gaza.

Filippo Grandi, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the organization is committed to easing the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza, but a shortage of funding is obstructing its plans.

Grandi made the remarks on an anniversary event marking Israel' s blockade against the Gaza Strip. He called on the Arab countries to support the UNRWA financially in this regard.

The Israeli blockade against Gaza was imposed after Islamic Hamas movement took control of the enclave from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The closure led to the UNRWA increasing the beneficiaries of its food program to 750,000 out of the 1.2 million registered refugees in the Gaza Strip, according to Grandi.

Because of the financial shortfall, the UNRWA had to cancel its summer entertainment for Gazan children.

In 2010, Israel eased the blockade and allowed the regular flow of consumer goods and construction materials for international organizations into Gaza. The move was made in response to a universal outcry against Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla.

However, Grandi said the blockade was not completely lifted and the UNRWA has to focus on humanitarian relief instead of development projects in its humanitarian efforts in Gaza.