Cat saved from under rubble in Gaza City after Israeli attack

By Zein Khalil

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian civil defense crews on Tuesday successfully rescued a cat from under the rubble of a house bombed by Israeli warplanes in Gaza City.

A video posted by the Civil Defense Agency showed rescuers cautiously removing the debris surrounding the cat trapped between collapsed walls.

The cat emerged unharmed from under the rubble amid cheers from Palestinian rescuers.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed some 1,200 people.

More than 30,600 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The impact on local animals is unknown, but they cannot have escaped the mass violence, destruction, and widespread famine unharmed.

The Israeli onslaught has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio​​​​​​​