Sick lioness transferred from Gaza to West Bank

A sick lioness was transferred from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Israeli officials said in a statement.

"The deteriorated health condition of the lioness prompted a quick transfer after a request by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza was received at the Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration," according to a statement by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

It didn't say which zoo will accommodate the lioness.

The eight-year-old lioness, weighing 200 kg, was transferred with a crane through the Erez Crossing, a border crossing on the Israel-Gaza barrier.

The operation involved the office of the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.

"This lioness was the seventh to pass from Gaza to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) or Jordan over the past year," said Uri Madar, who is in charge of agriculture coordination with the Palestinians. The last lion was transferred in March from Gaza to a zoo in Tulkarm in the central West Bank.

The South Forest Park zoo in the city of Khan Younis lost dozens of animals due to hunger. Zookeepers were unable to feed animals during repeated Israeli attacks in the region.

Gaza has been under Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamist movement of Hamas took over the control of the Strip in 2007, allowing little goods to enter the Palestinian enclave.

Almost all animals and birds were smuggled from Egypt through tunnels in Rafah area, which were mostly destroyed by Egypt and Israel over the past months, citing anti-terror considerations. Endit