ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated:

In addition to the hundreds of casualties in Operation Guardian of the Walls, Gazans also lost many beloved pets in the conflict.

Neriman, a nine-year-old Palestinian girl, lost a goldfish in an Israeli air strike, although another goldfish she owned survived.

"I was so sad that Hooriya died and I cried when I buried her in the field," said Neriman to France 24 about one of her fish. "But I was so happy that Hoor (Neriman's second fish) had survived."

Neriman and her family fled their home, leaving their fish and two parakeets behind, after the IDF warned their neighbors about an imminent airstrike on a bank located just meters from their home.

"“I went to the mosque near by for the fajr [dawn] prayer, then my neighbors were quickly warning several houses in our street to leave immediately after one of them received a phone call,” said Neriman's fathr, Bassam Al Akkad, to The National. “I took Neriman, her sister, their two brothers and my wife and left everything behind and forgot about the bowl of fish and the two birds.”

While one fish was killed after the airstrike broke the fish bowl, the second fish and the parakeets survived.

Gaza veterinarian Mutasem Qaddoura has had dozens of pet owners come to his clinic since the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel came into effect, according to France 24.

"The state of veterinary medicine is disastrous in Gaza," said Qaddoura to France 24. "We use X-ray machines intended for humans and platinum screws meant to fix children's bones to treat the animals."

Amani Abu Shaaban brought her cat to the vet after the conflict. "My cat has been very scared since the war. She refuses to eat, and her hair is falling out," said Shaaban. "Even the sound of a mobile phone ringing freaks her out."

In a shelter south of Gaza City, Adel al-Wadia found dogs howling with fear and hunger, according to France 24. "It made me sad, so I risked trying to get as close as possible to give them food," said al-Wadia.

Palestinian animal welfare groups tended to street dogs and cats wounded during the 11-day conflict between Hamas and Israel.
 
Saeed El-Aer, owner of Sulala Society for Training and Caring for Animals, has been trawling Gaza's streets looking for abandoned dogs and cats and providing them with medication, food and shelter.
 
As soon as a ceasefire was reached after the worst hostilities in years between Hamas and Israel, Aer rushed to his animal shelter, built on a piece of land given to him by the municipality in eastern Gaza City's suburb of Zeitoun.
 
"I found all the dogs outside it. The dogs were sad, afraid and terrified," he told Reuters. He said Israeli bombardments had shattered part of the exterior fence.
 
"I was surprised to see a donkey dead and another horse wounded, who then died. I found dogs wounded with shrapnel, and I am still treating them."
 
In the northern Gaza Strip, shrapnel from an Israeli air strike which destroyed a nearby house also hit Omar Shahin's stable, injuring three of his four horses.
 
Shahin was unable to rescue one of his animals, Amira, a two-year old horse who died nine days after being hit by a missile fragment which caused a skull fracture and internal bleeding.Nidal al-Mughrabi/Reuters contributed to this report.