‘Donkeys are a lifeline in Gaza – it’s vital we look after them’

In a land where relentless bombardment has destroyed roads and bridges, while a strict blockade has cut off fuel supplies, the donkeys of Gaza play a critical role.

Despite being sick, starved and dehydrated themselves, they move evacuees away from conflict zones, take the injured to the hospital, bring food and medicine to survivors and carry building materials to rebuild bombed homes. They even transport the dead. 

Working in appalling conditions, the donkeys suffer from parasites, diseases, harness sores, cracked and infected hooves, joint and bone issues.

Many have been injured from missiles and bombs, and they too have been impacted by the trauma of living among death and destruction since the conflict broke out in October 2023. 

Professor Dr Saif Alden lost his livelihood after his university was bombed eighteen months ago.

When the farmer’s son and animal lover was asked for help by Safe Haven for Donkeys – a British registered charity that cares for working and abandoned donkeys in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Egypt – he decided to step into action.

Assembling a team of four veterinary staff and two volunteers, the group set up mobile clinics amongst the rubble to provide medical and practical support to the neglected and frightened animals. 

Since their work began in April last year, Dr Saif and his team have treated around 10,000 donkeys, sometimes having to euthanise those beyond help. With no access to petrol and just two bicycles between them, the work gets harder by the day.

‘Our team works with extraordinary courage and compassion,’ he tells Metro over Zoom from Gaza. ‘Some are living in makeshift shelters on the searing shores of the Mediterranean, others in towns like Deir Al-Balah and Al-Qararah, cycling for hours to reach one another.’

The team are finding scarce medication almost impossible to access. An aid package of animal food and urgently needed veterinary medication was sent by Safe Haven for Donkeys in December 2023, but the shipment took four months to arrive. Another delivery has been waiting to enter Gaza since February 2025, explains 34-year-old Dr Saif.

‘Despite everything, we treated 139 animals this week – mostly donkeys and horses. Supplies are scarce, and securing medicine takes days of travel and danger,’ he adds.

Dr Saif has lost 78 family members since the outbreak of war, six in recent months, including his 20-year-old cousin Mohammed, who was killed in a missile strike as he returned home, bringing tomatoes to feed his family.  

‘He was a very good guy. He had nothing to do with anything political.

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‘We are all grieving deeply. He wasn’t just family – he was a quiet hero, regularly risking safety to help me get essential medications, often travelling through dangerous areas without hesitation. Many of the medicines we relied on were in our hands because of him,’ says Dr Saif.

Last year, the professor’s younger brother, Ahmad, a volunteer with the clinic, was wounded by flying shrapnel. In April, the team miraculously survived a missile strike on its base in Khan Yunis, Southern Gaza. 

The team lost everything – its medicines, uniforms and other essential tools that it relies on for its work. Most houses in the area were demolished.

‘We were incredibly lucky – we had left the area just moments before the area was completely annihilated. We were on our way home when it happened,’ the professor remembers. 

Amidst the devastation, the volunteers continue, committed to their work. 

‘This situation is not a movie. It is our reality,’ adds Dr Saif. ‘I wish people around the world were aware that if these donkeys are not going to be taken care of, they are going to die – and then who is going to take care of the desperate people of Gaza?’