Almost a million people are expected to need food aid in the Gaza Strip next year.

Almost a million people are expected to need food aid in the Gaza Strip next year, a UN agency has said.

About 813,000 Palestinian refugees currently receive food aid from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), but the organization expects a 10-20 percent rise in demand in 2014, Reuters quoted Robert Turner, director of operations in Gaza, as saying.

Egypt's closure in recent months of smuggling tunnels under the border into the enclave was the main reason for the increase in the number of needy families.

“Only for food next year, we are appealing for $95 million,” Turner said.