There are virtually no animals left alive in Gaza zoo. It wasn’t much of a place before the Israeli soldiers came, but it was somewhere for the kids to go on a Sunday. God knows, there was little else for them to do, even before the war.
Apart from the zoo, the complex housed a children’s library, a playground, and a cultural center.
There was not a single person in this zoo. Just the animals. We all fled before they came. What purpose does it serve to walk around shooting animals and destroying the place?” ~ Gaza zookeeper Emad Jameel Qasim.
According to Gulfnews:[1]
Inside the main building, soldiers defaced the walls, ripped out one of the toilets and removed all of the hard drives from the office computers. We asked him [Qasim] why they targeted the zoo. He laughs. “I don’t know. You have to go and ask the Israelis. This is a place where people come to relax and enjoy themselves. It’s not a place of politics.”
Most of the animals were shot at point blank range.
Presumably, to provide the Israeli military with a little amusement.
[1] “Israeli troops shot and killed zoo animals” Gulfnews, January 25th 2009
My thanks to “Gorilla’s Guides for the Gulfnews link.
Filed under: Plumbing the depths
Human depravity at its worst, RJA. It is atrocities like this that make me cry. Helpless animals. Trapped. Like the children they so cheerfully slaughtered.
There’s not a shred of decency left in the whole scenario. Thanks for writing about it.
XO
WWW
Sickening! At times like this I hope that there is such a thing as karma.