Dozens of homeless Gazans in Rafah Zoo You camp among the cages where hungry monkeys, parrots and lions live. Twelve weeks after the start of the Israeli offensive, they are crying out for food.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents were forced from their homes by bombings that left much of the territory in ruins. Many are now flocking to the southern city of Rafah, with their shelters packed into corners and wastelands.
At the Gomaa family’s private zoo, a row of plastic tents stood near the animal enclosures and clothes hung on ropes between palm trees. A nearby worker tried to hand-feed a weak monkey with tomato slices.
Many of the people taking refuge in the zoo are members of the Gomaa family, who lived in different parts of the enclave before the conflict destroyed their homes.
“There are many families who are completely devastated. Now our whole family lives in this zoo,” said Adel Gomaa, who fled Gaza City. “Life among animals is more merciful than what fighter planes offer us in the sky.”
Four monkeys have already died and a fifth is now so weak that it cannot even eat when food is available, zoo owner Ahmed Gomaa said.
For himself, he is also afraid of two lion cubs. “We feed them dry bread soaked in water to keep them alive. The situation is truly tragic.”
The cubs’ mother has lost half her weight since the conflict began as a result of a daily meal of chicken meat and a weekly ration of bread, he added.
A United Nations-backed report warned last week that Gaza was at risk of famine and that the entire population was facing critical levels of hunger. At the start of the war, Israel stopped all imports of food, medicine, electricity and fuel to Gaza.
Although the delivery of aid is now allowed in the enclave, security checkpoints, supply shortages and the difficulty of moving through the rubble of a war zone make supplies difficult. Many Palestinians say they don’t eat every day.
At the zoo, the lioness and her cubs lay listlessly in their cage while children played nearby.
Animals are dying and getting sick every day, said Sofian Abdeen, a veterinarian who worked at the zoo. ‘Cases of hunger, weakness, anemia. These problems are widespread. There is no food.
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
