Palestinian man Said al-Err feeds dogs at a shelter for stray animals in Gaza City, June 9, 2021. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
by Sanaa Kamal
GAZA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Saeed el-Err, a Palestinian man from the Gaza Strip, spends many hours a day treating dozens of stray dogs and cats wounded by the Israeli airstrikes.
On May 10, Israel launched a military campaign on the Gaza Strip after the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), ruler of the enclave, demanded the Israeli authorities to withdraw their forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where hundreds of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police earlier that day.
During the 11 days of fierce fighting, Israeli fighter jets carried out hundreds of airstrikes on the strip, and the militants there fired thousands of rockets into Israel.
"As a result, dozens of stray animals in Gaza were wounded while hundreds of them were psychologically affected," the 50-year-old father of eight told Xinhua while treating a wounded stray dog.
"Those non-speaking creatures cannot express the pain or fear that engulf them. Very often they are left alone without being taken care of," the man said.
This is the reason why he decided to take matters into his own hands, launching a health initiative that aims at treating animals that have been hurt during the hostilities.
The initiative was not the first one proposed by El-Err. In 2006, he started to help stray animals who were often abused by drivers deliberately running over them or by children hitting them with stones.
Also in 2016, he established the first-ever animal shelter in the Gaza Strip which has provided health and living services for dozens of stray animals in the coastal enclave.
As of today, his shelter houses about 200 stray animals, including dogs and cats, mostly disabled.
"Unfortunately, we do not have a social culture that encourages people to adopt animals or care about their rights, and that is why you will find the stray animals living in abnormal conditions," he said.
El-Err tried to change that situation but the military escalation has presented him with more challenges. During the days of fighting neither he nor his son could reach the animal shelter. The bombardment traumatized many animals, and 100 of them escaped the shelter.
"It was a horrible time. My father, brothers and I were thinking a lot about the dogs and cats and how they would face the airstrikes," said al-Err, the older son of Saeed.
"As soon as the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was declared in Gaza, we hurried to the shelter, only to find several of them had left the place while others were stuck in a tiny place protecting each other from death," the 21-year-old young man said.
With the help of a number of volunteers, the team managed to locate 60 stray animals. Some were heavily wounded, while some suffered drastic changes in behaviors.
El-Err and his sons also collaborate with 10 vets in the coastal enclave.
"We found that some of them suffer from isolation and introversion, some suffer from extreme fear, and some become more fierce and hostile even against their owners," said Ramzy Lubbad, a Gaza-based veterinarian.
Animals in Gaza need to be physically and psychologically treated as they suffer just as humans do, he added.
This puts el-Err under pressure as he seeks to help more animals but his funding resources are limited. "Some people provide us with food for animals, while others provide us with basic medicine," el-Err said.
"Our mission is not easy amid the current challenges. I feel that I am swimming against the current. But I am sure that I will achieve my dream of creating the biggest home for all stray animals," the optimistic man said. Enditem
