Water crisis may make Gaza Strip uninhabitable by 2020

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Along the beach each day, young men drag in a meager catch. Food is scarce, they said. Unemployment in Gaza is over 40 percent, over 60 percent among young people.

It is one of the most significant consequences of Israel's 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which followed the election of the militant Islamist party Hamas.

Cross-border skirmishes are common here. Everything from Hamas rockets to smaller improvised explosive devices attached to balloons are lobbed at Israel. Each time, it provokes a vigorous Israeli military response.

Israel has also severely restricted the flow into Gaza of equipment and supplies. Uri Shor of Israel's Water Authority says seemingly innocuous supplies for infrastructure, cement, for instance, are often diverted. Others are weaponized.

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