Gaza Zoo Animals Caught in Crossfire, Now Trapped

Animals at a Gaza zoo lie among debris, dead carcasses, and filthy conditions after more than a month of being caught in crossfire between Israel and Palestinian militants, according to reports.

The fighting killed more than 1,960 Palestinians and 67 Israelis, but the zoo's animals suffered casualties as well.

"Eight to 10 monkeys were killed," Abu Sameer, the zoo's chief veterinarian, told CNN. "Also a peacock, a gazelle, a lion, and a fox."

Part of the Al-Bisan recreational park in Jabalya, northern Gaza, the zoo was hit multiple times during the course of the conflict. Staff members are now concerned over the animals that are left among the rubble, traumatized, starved, and living among filth.

"The situation is very bad," said Sameer. "We can't get the animals out to clean the cages. Many of them are getting sick because they are weak and it is dirty. But we don't have any alternative places."

The bodies of dead animals, mostly monkeys, lay scattered on the torched grass. In one enclosure at the zoo, a fly-covered pelican huddles in the corner with a duck. In another, a crocodile lay motionless in the hot sun, while seven mangy wild dogs nearby are crammed into a 10-by-10 foot cage.

But possibly the most saddening is the situation for the lions, according to Sameer. One was killed during the conflict and three remain in the zoo, but it lacks the means of getting them proper food.

"They have not eaten for 10 to 15 days," he told CNN. "We could not reach them during the fighting. When it got calmer at least we could bring them some water." Although, the network did help out by purchasing some chickens for them from a local market.

Israel launched an air campaign over Gaza on July 8 to take out militants' rockets, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, followed by a ground offensive nine days later to destroy a network of Hamas cross-border tunnels leading into the Jewish state.

An Israeli army spokesman told AFP that the military was looking into allegations that it fired missiles in the Al-Bisan park area, which is run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

So far, aside from these animal casualties, more than 2,000 people killed and many homes destroyed as a result of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, CNN reports.