The streets of Gaza City and Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza are filled with the carcasses of emaciated animals, and the skinny cats and dogs scavenging for anything to satiate their hunger amidst piles of garbage. This bleak scene paints a grim picture of the famine that grips the northern areas of Gaza due to the Israeli army’s blocking of food aid deliveries.
The only meal for these cats and dogs is the decaying bodies of animals and birds that lie abandoned in the streets or in the waste dumps. Samah Zain Al-Din, a Palestinian residing in Jabalia refugee camp, laments that dozens of dead animal carcasses are strewn near the garbage heaps, some of which are already decomposing.
Zain Al-Din expressed, “There is not enough food for humans in the camp and all the northern areas of the sector, so most of these animals have died of starvation, as they have not eaten for weeks.”
Near a large waste container in Gaza City, a resident, Asmaa Al-Najjar, pointed to a cat and stated, “Poor thing, she can’t find food and is eating from the decaying flesh of another cat. Hunger is almost killing humans, so what about animals?” She added, “The smell of the dead animals clogs our noses and causes us great harm, especially for those suffering from respiratory diseases like asthma. We try to gather these animals in places far from our homes, but the odors reach us, and we fear they may cause us health problems.”
Witnesses claim that cats and dogs were seen gnawing on decaying bodies of Palestinians who were killed after being targeted by the occupying army in the western areas of Khan Yunis city.
Initiative
In a bid to save the cats from starvation, veterinarian Aaid Abu Najam has established a shelter for domestic cats in Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza, to care for and feed them, as their owners have lost their homes or are unable to provide food for them.
The veterinarian stated, “The Israeli war has affected the animals as well as the humans, and they have suffered great harm and the worst forms of injustice.” As he continues, “Many cats have died of starvation or were killed in Israeli airstrikes.”
He explained that “the cat food is scarce in the markets and can be found in very limited quantities. Therefore, I have gathered amounts of it and established a shelter for the cats that their owners cannot care for.”
He emphasized that he is working to gather and provide food and medical care to these cats so that their owners can reclaim them after the war ends. Abu Najam expressed his dismay and frustration over the plight faced by cats due to the war and the depiction of the difficult life the animals are enduring in Gaza.
He appeals to all parties capable of changing this tragic situation to urgently intervene to save these oppressed animals, especially since cat breeders usually have a close relationship with their animals.
UN Warnings
Over the past two months, several human rights and international organizations have warned of a famine in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s blockade of aid reaching Gaza City and the northern parts, allowing only limited quantities to enter the southern areas.
On Tuesday, the head of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Rami Abdo, stated that Israel is using starvation as a weapon to drive the inhabitants of Gaza out of their land, even to kill them.
He warned that Gaza is suffering from a severe shortage of food supplies, citing a decrease in the average aid deliveries from around 500 trucks before the war to less than 100 currently.
Abdo also mentioned that between 50 and 100 aid trucks have only arrived in northern Gaza in the past 100 days, leading to severe starvation and a shortage of essentials in the sector.
He stated, “At present, over half of Gaza’s population is suffering severe hunger, and all the residents of northern Gaza are facing harsh famine conditions.”
Abdo emphasized that most infants require milk, which is not entering the sector, in addition to the shortage of medical supplies and medications. Women are barely able to cope with this situation.
The continuous Israeli aggression against Gaza since October 7, 2023, has caused immense destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, resulting in the martyrdom of around 27,000 Palestinians and injuring roughly 66,000 others.
