More than 3 weeks have passed since the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war. Since then, a number of nonprofits and individuals have begun helping families remove their animals that were left there or fled.
Among the associations are "Let the Animals Live" and "For the Wildlife", which rescued many animals from the communities in the area. "About two days after the outbreak of fighting, we started wandering all over the area to help the animals and their various caregivers," Dr. Noa Barak, medical director of Let the Animals Live Veterinary Center in Ashkelon, told Israel Hayom. "We collected dogs and cats that fled their owners due to the fighting and the onslaught of Hamas terrorists, some of them wounded, and we also searched for and rescued animals left behind."
She added: "Every day the charity's cars leave the area full of food, which we distribute to everyone who needs it, including street cat feeders, of whom there are now only a few left on the conflict line, and the animal breeders who have not left. We also deliver food to fighters in the surrounding communities, so that they can distribute it to animals that are in places that civilians are forbidden to enter. If they are allowed to capture them, they do so and pass them on to us."
Dog rescued from a house in Kibbutz Be'eri // Photo: "For Wildlife Association"
"Great mobilization for foster care"
For wildlife, too, they joined the important cause. "We received the rescue lists from the animal war room of brothers in arms, who obtained entry permits for us from the IDF," said Avihu Sherwood, the organization's chairman. "We arrived with the necessary equipment and a large crew, and caught all the animals we were asked to catch - from dogs and cats, through exotic animals such as iguanas, parrots, swans and even spiders, all returned to their owners, to entire animal corners, which were transferred to other animal corners that are outside the range of the war. We go to every place where there are animals left, and also to animals that are now afraid of humans because of the inferno they experienced," he said.
"If the animal is friendly, then collecting it is easy, but in cases where it is afraid, we have to place food in a cage that closes when it enters, and if necessary, we blur it," says Dr. Barak. "We have also encountered cases where the owners of the animals we found have been murdered, kidnapped or missing. In such cases, we look for the person's relatives, or we place the animal in foster care. Fortunately, there is a very large mobilization of people who want to raise animals rescued from the area in foster care."
Dr. Noa Barak with donkeys rescued from the Gaza envelope, photo: "Let the animals live"
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us