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UN: Life in Gaza Getting 'More and More Wretched'

by Associated Press

   JERUSALEM --

   A U.N. report says life in Gaza is getting "more and more wretched"
   after 10 years of Hamas rule and a crippling Israeli and Egyptian
   blockade.

   Robert Piper, the U.N. coordinator for aid in the Palestinian
   territories, said in Tuesday's report that "Gaza has continued on its
   trajectory of de-development, in many cases even faster than we had
   originally projected." In 2012, the U.N. said Gaza could be "unlivable"
   by 2020.
   Hamas seized power in 2007 from forces loyal to Palestinian President
   Mahmoud Abbas. Israel and Egypt have since maintained a system of
   closures that has sharply limited travel and trade, saying the measures
   are needed to prevent Hamas from arming.
   Hamas has fought three wars with Israel since it seized power, most
   recently in the summer of 2014.