Gaza's zoo animals caught in crossfire of Israel-Hamas conflict

The sights at the Gaza zoo couldn't be sadder.

In a tiny cage, a baboon sits, picking seeds off the floor, desperately eating whatever he can find. Next to the baboon, the carcass of his mate and five offspring lay in the pen, decomposing in the August heat.

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

The carcasses of dead animals, mostly monkeys, lay scattered across the scorched grass between the pens. In one of the cages, a dead peacock lays in front of two hungry lions. In another, a crocodile lounges in the hot sun; there is almost no water in the enclosure, which also holds a pelican and a duck.

The zoo, part of the Al-Bisan recreational park in Jabalya, northern Gaza, was hit multiple times during the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas militants.

The sights at the Gaza zoo couldn't be sadder.

In a tiny cage, a baboon sits, picking seeds off the floor, desperately eating whatever he can find. Next to the baboon, the carcass of his mate and five offspring lay in the pen, decomposing in the August heat.

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

The carcasses of dead animals, mostly monkeys, lay scattered across the scorched grass between the pens. In one of the cages, a dead peacock lays in front of two hungry lions. In another, a crocodile lounges in the hot sun; there is almost no water in the enclosure, which also holds a pelican and a duck.

The zoo, part of the Al-Bisan recreational park in Jabalya, northern Gaza, was hit multiple times during the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas militants.