The situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate on account of Israel's occupation (1967-present) and blockade (2007-present) of the territory, along with Egypt's destruction of tunnels that function as Gaza's lifeline.
See also Oct. 14 blog post on this issue.
Side note: While preparing for a small presentation I gave recently on the Palestine-Israel conflict, I looked at different countries and cities comparable in size to Gaza, which is 139 square miles. I have done this before, but not for a while. When I saw that Las Vegas is basically identical in size (136 sq. mi.), the contrasting images that came to mind - of the two "strips" - were equally striking and disturbing. Instead of elaborating on my thoughts, I'll leave the reader to ponder this disparity.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/wasting-away-gaza-strip-2013112093312839916.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/world/middleeast/raw-sewage-and-anger-floods-gazas-streets-as-electricity-runs-low.html
