At a zoo in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, dozens of destitute Palestinians shelter among cages housing hungry monkeys, parrots and lions, with no end in sight for the Israeli offensive on the enclave.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been driven from their homes by the Israeli army’s relentless air, land and sea attacks, as well as forced evacuations, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins. Many fled to already overcrowded Rafah, seeking safety in crowded camps and pitching tents on street corners.
At the private zoo run by the Gomaa family, a row of plastic tents have been set up near the cages and laundry is hung on ropes between the palm trees. Nearby, a worker attempted to hand-feed a weak monkey slices of tomatoes.
Many of the people at the zoo are members of Gomaa’s extended family who lived in different parts of the enclave before the conflict destroyed their homes.
“Many families have been completely devastated. Now our whole family lives in this zoo,” said Adel Gomaa, who fled Gaza City. “Living among animals is more merciful than what we get from warplanes in the sky. »
A United Nations-backed report warned last week that Gaza was at risk of famine and that the entire population was facing dire levels of starvation.
Israel stopped all imports of food, medicine, electricity and fuel into Gaza when the current conflict began in October. Although it now allows some aid into the Gaza Strip, security checks, delivery bottlenecks and the difficulty of moving through the rubble of a war zone have hampered supply. Many Palestinians report not eating every day.
