Gaza Zoo Struggles to Survive Amid Ongoing Conflict

Zoo owner Mahmoud Gomaa fled his original facility in Rafah after Israeli forces attacked and occupied parts of the city in 2024. He moved surviving animals from town to town during the fighting and secured a new site near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza earlier in 2026. The reopened zoo aims to give traumatised children a rare place of respite after nearly three years of war-related destruction. Photographs show a female lion in its cage on August 12, 2026 and a family interacting with macaws on August 6, 2026.

The Independent

Veterinarians report that many animals are malnourished and weakened by shortages of food, medicine and vaccines. When Gomaa first fled Rafah, he left behind three lions, several crocodiles and African ostriches; on his return he found only the bones of the crocodiles and ostriches, and the three lions had disappeared.

The Straits Times

Gomaa told Reuters that “in the beginning of the war people were looking for a way to survive… and I was looking for a way to save the animals more than saving myself.” Israel’s military, which says its attacks are aimed at militant targets, did not immediately respond to questions about the impact of the fighting on civilian facilities such as zoos and their animals.

The Straits Times

• “In the beginning of the war, people were looking for a way to survive... and I was looking for a way to save the animals more than saving myself,” — Mahmoud Gomaa

The Straits Times

• “Lions can detect sounds and disturbances that humans may not notice,” — Amir Khalil

The Straits Times