The United Nations, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reached a stopgap deal to allow reconstruction work to begin in the war-torn Gaza Strip, U.N. Middle East envoy Robert Serry said on Tuesday. The deal came as a World Bank report outlined dire economic prospects for Palestinians after the July-August conflict with Israel. The U.N.-sponsored reconstruction agreement could help curb Palestinian economic deterioration in Gaza, which since 2007 has been controlled by Hamas.