Three lions and several other animals remain in the zoo in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where the IDF forces are currently operating. The owners of the zoo, in whose compound many residents who left their homes throughout the Gaza Strip have been living in recent months, vacated the city following calls by the IDF to leave its next theater of operations.
For the past 24 years, the Jumaa family has been operating a zoo in the city located on the border with Egypt. According to the managers of the zoo, which is home to lions, monkeys and other unusual animals, the animals have been suffering from a lack of food since the start of the war and are also frightened by the bombings.
Jana Jumaa, daughter of the zoo director, said that they cannot provide the animals with their usual food, due to shortages.
Ahmed Jumaa, the zoo's manager and one of its owners, said that the family left Rafah for Khan Younis about a week ago, and took some animals with them, but they left behind the three lions. He said he turned to the Red Cross, the United Nations and other international institutions to coordinate an operation to evacuate the remaining lions in Rafah, fearing that they would be harmed by the IDF's operations or starve to death.
Fathi Jumaa, another zoo owner, expressed his hope that the relevant authorities would assist them in evacuating the remaining animals. "The park was established in the years 1999-2000. It is a non-profit site in the Gaza Strip," he explained.
He added that it had not been possible for them to evacuate the lions, due to lack of time and also because there was no means to transport them. He appealed for assistance. "Help us evacuate the lions to a safe place," he said.