Mahmoud Gomaa, the owner of a Gaza zoo, has managed to keep his surviving animals alive despite severe shortages of food, vaccines, and medicine. The zoo, which was originally located in Rafah but moved to Nuseirat after Israeli forces attacked, is now struggling to provide proper nutrition for its animals, with owners resorting to feeding them frozen meat. According to veterinarians, this is a "catastrophe" and a "wrong nutritional plan". Approximately 30% of Gaza's zoos were destroyed or abandoned during the conflict, leaving few options for children like Karam Al-Mazin, who visited the zoo with his family and said there was "nothing except rubble, stones and tents" for them to play in.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Mahmoud Gomaa, the owner of a zoo in Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, has been working tirelessly to save his animals from the devastating effects of war. After being forced to flee his original location in Rafah due to Israeli troops' occupation in 2024, he moved the surviving animals to different towns before finally finding a new home in Nuseirat in 2026. Despite severe shortages of food, medicine, and vaccines, Gomaa has managed to keep many of his animals alive, including lions and chimpanzees. The zoo now serves as a rare source of joy for traumatized local children, who visit the enclosures to see the animals, although they are often malnourished and weak due to the harsh conditions. Gomaa's dedication is motivated by his desire to save the animals more than himself, as he stated: "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."
Written for “Life at the Gaza Zoo” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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Leaning score -0.50 for article 1143 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-24
Young visitors walking into a zoo close to Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp were greeted by a lion barely acknowledging them through its cage bars, alongside listless chimpanzees sitting in their enclosure.
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visitors → walk → enclosure
Shortages of food, vaccines and medicine have left many creatures severely malnourished and weak, but they remain alive thanks largely to the persistent efforts of owner Mahmoud Gomaa.
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they → leave → Gomaa
He originally ran the facility in the southern city of Rafah, but explained he was forced to flee after Israeli forces attacked and occupied sections of the area during 2024.
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forces → run → 2024
Amid ongoing fighting, he moved the surviving animals from town to town before securing a new site in Nuseirat in central Gaza earlier this year.
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he → move → Gaza
Reopening the zoo at this location, he hoped to give traumatised local children something to enjoy after nearly three years of conflict and destruction.
"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," Gomaa told Reuters.
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Gomaa → reopen → Reuters
There were a number of zoos in Gaza before the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted, displaying exotic and wild animals including lions and eagles, municipal records show.
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records → be → lions
Anyone trying to keep one open now faces enormous challenges, vets and animal experts said, not least in getting food in a territory struggling to feed its human population.
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vets → try → population
"Owners are currently feeding them frozen meat," veterinarian Nidal Fadel said.
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Fadel → feed → meat
"This is a catastrophe and a wrong nutritional plan because in nature they eat fresh prey."
The animals themselves are bearing the brunt of the war — sometimes directly.
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animals → eat → war
When Gomaa fled Rafah, he said he had to leave behind three lions, several crocodiles and some African ostriches.
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he → flee → lions
A few months later, Gomaa returned and only found the bones of the crocodiles and the ostriches.
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Gomaa → return → crocodiles
Those three lions, which he had locked in their cages, had disappeared.
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he → lock → cages
"Lions can detect sounds and disturbances that humans may not notice," said Amir Khalil, a veterinarian who has led several trips to Gaza by the animal welfare organisation Four Paws and rescued other zoos' animals.
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who → detect → animals
"Bombing and constant conflict create enormous stress and fear for them," he added.
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he → create → them
In Nuseirat, the surviving lion barely looked up at the visitors.
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lion → survive → visitors
But the children had better luck with some of the other animals, letting parrots ride on their shoulders and petting smaller monkeys.
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parrots → have → monkeys
It was a rare chance to relax in an enclave still facing regular airstrikes, despite a fragile ceasefire.
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It → relax → ceasefire
Israel's military, which says its attacks are aimed at militant targets, did not immediately respond to questions about the conflict's impact on civilian facilities like zoos and their animals.
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attacks → say → zoos
"Today there is no avenue for children to play," said visitor Karam Al-Mazin, 42.
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Mazin → be → ?
"There is nothing except rubble, stones and tents, so children today are bored and are in a difficult situation."
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children → be → situation
