A donkey in Gaza, being treated by the Safe Haven for Donkeys team. Credit: supplied.
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Like all Gazans, Dr Saif Alden does not have enough to eat – yet he shares what little he has with his beloved donkeys.
“Food is very, very, very, limited. It is not allowed into Gaza,” he tells Big Issue via video call. “We are starving. But we share… because we need them.”
The veterinary surgeon speaks to Big Issue from the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s brutal military offensive – triggered by Hamas attacks in October 2023 – has entered its 23rd month.
It is six months since we last spoke, and Dr Alden is visibly gaunter. A week before our call, the IPC declared a famine in the Gaza Governorate area. Some 2.1 million people – the entire population – face extreme hunger.
“We could bear the war,” Dr Alden says. “Of course, no one wants to be injured; we don’t want this, of course. But it is impossible for us to bear starvation. We as human beings, not even mentioning animals.”
“Maybe we can talk, we can cry, we can scream. If it comes to animals, they cannot talk. But we can read their eyes.”
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Since the onset of fighting in October 2023, war has destroyed or rendered inaccessible some 98.5% of cropland. Fishing is banned, too, so Gazans are utterly dependent on food from the outside. But food is not forthcoming.
According to records kept by Cogat – the Israeli agency that controls aid shipments to Gaza – Israel allowed just 56,000 tonnes of food to enter the territory between March and June. This is less than a quarter of Gaza’s minimum needs for that period.
The situation is “very bad,” Dr Alden says, shaking his head. He looks tired. But his passion for his work – caring for the region’s several thousand donkeys – is undimmed.
“They’re like us. They’re emotional, they’re loving, really. They’re very loving,” he says, wringing his hands. “They’re emotional. They have heart. They have emotion. They have dreams. They have a future – but they can’t talk.”
It is not easy to say exactly how many donkeys there are in Gaza. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation assessments show 3,964 working animals still alive as of February 2025 – but the organisation acknowledges that this is a low estimate.
Other tallies are much higher. Safe Haven for Donkeys – the UK-registered NGO which funds Dr Alden’s work – puts the number around 20,000.
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Dr Alden’s four-man team claims to have treated over 10,000 animals since the conflict began. In July alone, they reported carrying out around 18 field visits and treating at least 156 donkeys, horses and other animals.
The team treating a donkey in Gaza in February. Credit: Safe Haven for Donkeys.
It’s risky business. In March, the vets escaped their clinic just minutes before it was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
“We were so lucky to survive,” Alden says. The bombing did not deter their work; they were sourcing medication and equipment again within days.
“It was very, very hard for us,” the former farmer adds. “But if we don’t take care of these donkeys, what would be happening now?
“Who would be transporting my people? Who would be transporting the injured? Who would be taking luggage and carrying people when there is evacuation when there is evacuation? Who would help my people? There is no car.”
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Without donkeys, he reiterates, “we cannot do anything.”
Fuel is prohibitively expensive – and regardless, much of the tiny enclave is completely impassable by vehicle. As of July, nearly 70% of civilian infrastructure across the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed, including the vast majority of roads.
As demand for their services rises, the price of a donkey has surged. Before October 2023, a cart and donkey might have fetched US$800 (£630), Dr Alden estimates. Now, it’s more like US$10,000 (£8,600).
“Some people say Gazans do not take care of donkeys, that Gazans have abandoned donkeys. No, this is not the truth,” he continues. “If it were true, we would sell all our donkeys with this expensive price.”
Donkeys perform vital services in decimated communities. As the death toll ticks upward, the animals serve as animal ambulances, carrying casualties to the hospital. More than 61,000 Gazans have died, and a further 151,000 have been injured.
At least 90% of Gaza’s population is currently displaced. Among this tally is Alaa, a new mother whose story the Big Issue covered in March.
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Alaa called Dr Alden when her waters broke, pleading for help; he found a donkey cart to safely carry her to the hospital.
I ask for an update on Alaa and her baby, Nur Mohammed. “They are ok,” Dr Alden replies, after a long pause.
“Yes, they are ok, but they live in very, very difficult conditions now. They live in a tent in Al-Mwasi. They are still alive. But as all Gazans, their condition is terrible. It’s horrific.”
Israel has designated Al-Mawasi a ‘safe zone’ – though on Tuesday (September 2), an Israeli strike in the area killed nine people who were fetching water. Five of the casualties were children.
As Israel gears up to invade Gaza City, more people are set to evacuate to Al-Mawasi. The head of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, has previously warned that no other part of Gaza had the capacity to absorb mass displacement from the capital. In Israel, thousands have marched against the offensive, spearheaded by Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Nonetheless, the ground operation seems all but certain to proceed. Gaza City inhabitants will be forced to leave – and donkeys will facilitate much of this movement.
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“Without donkeys, we cannot do anything,” Dr Alden reiterates. “Now 99% of our transport system is based on donkeys. This is not figurative. This is not metaphorical. This is reality.”
These animals are suffering. At least 300 have already died of starvation, he estimates. If more food does not arrive in Gaza soon, many thousands more will “simply vanish.”
Dr Alden “cannot bear” this thought. He ends our call with a plea: “Do not look away.”
“I strongly believe that there are so many kind-hearted people. There are so many, many good people, and I know they are trying to do something.
“I don’t want to say that the world has left us… but the world is not watching us at the moment. What I can say is donkeys have not left Gazans. They are helping us.”
“This is why we must protect this sacred creature.”
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