A six-year-old child died after being bitten by a caged lioness in the southern Gaza Strip, authorities in this small Palestinian territory announced on Monday (May 1).
At the Asda tourist complex in Khan Younis, the little boy climbed over a security barrier and then entered the cage of the feline, which attacked him, according to the police who announced that they had opened an investigation. .
According to a witness, the lioness bit the child in the head, which had slipped into the cage after finding a hole in the fence.
The child was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries, according to a medical source.
The Asda tourist complex is home to two felines - a lion and a lioness - as well as many birds.
It was closed Monday by the authorities after the tragedy.
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The city of Khan Younis is infamous for hosting what animal rights NGO Four Paws has dubbed the “
worst zoo in the world
”.
Opened in 2007, this zoo was closed in 2016 when the owners, having struggled to get food, left many animals to starve.
The Gaza Strip, a micro-territory of 2.3 million inhabitants, suffers from a poverty rate of around 60%, aggravated by the strict blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.
