The General Authority of Civil Affairs today announced that a series of measures taken to provide relief to the besieged Gaza Strip starts today.

“What was allowed and achieved today, we hope, will be a prelude to completely lifting of the blockade on our people there,” Head of the General Authority of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh tweeted.

He indicated that the set of measures intended to relax the 15-year-old Israeli blockade on the strip comes into effect today and includes allowing Gazans stranded in Jordan to return to the coastal enclave via the Beit Hanoun crossing, and the resumption of mail delivery to/from Gaza and allowing the export of all agricultural crops and textile products to the West Bank and Israel.

“We have demanded and we are still calling on the Israeli government to open the Gaza Strip borders for individuals and goods, to allow import and export to and from the Gaza Strip, and to release all goods seized in Israeli ports to Gaza merchants,” al-Sheikh added.