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Twin lion cubs born in Gaza | World news | theguardian.com
Twin lion cubs born in Gaza
The cubs – one male, one female – are offspring of lions smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt four years ago
The twin cubs, Fajr and Sijil, at the zoo in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Two unusual additions to Gaza's ballooning population have been proudly announced by Hamas: twin lion cubs, the first to be born inside the beleaguered coastal strip.
Their arrival at the Bissan amusement park, a Hamas-run enterprise in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, came in the week of the anniversary of last year's eight-day conflict with Israel. To mark the timing, the cubs – one male, one female – were named Fajr and Sijil.
Fajr is Arabic for dawn, but is also the name of some of the missiles fired by Hamas and other militant groups at Israel last November. Sijil translates as clay, and is the name Hamas gave to last year's conflict.
The cubs' parents were smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels under the border with Egypt four years ago.
"The lioness gave birth yesterday [Monday] to two cubs, one male and one female," said Nahed al-Majdub, Bissan's manager, on Tuesday. "It is the first time lions have been born in the Gaza Strip," he added.
The cubs now face a life of captivity within captivity. Animals are kept in cages next to picnic areas. Bissan is one of several zoos in Gaza, most of which are populated with animals brought through smuggling tunnels.
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Twin lion cubs born in Gaza
The cubs – one male, one female – are offspring of lions smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt four years ago
The twin cubs, Fajr and Sijil, at the zoo in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
Two unusual additions to Gaza's ballooning population have been proudly announced by Hamas: twin lion cubs, the first to be born inside the beleaguered coastal strip.
Their arrival at the Bissan amusement park, a Hamas-run enterprise in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, came in the week of the anniversary of last year's eight-day conflict with Israel. To mark the timing, the cubs – one male, one female – were named Fajr and Sijil.
Fajr is Arabic for dawn, but is also the name of some of the missiles fired by Hamas and other militant groups at Israel last November. Sijil translates as clay, and is the name Hamas gave to last year's conflict.
The cubs' parents were smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels under the border with Egypt four years ago.
"The lioness gave birth yesterday [Monday] to two cubs, one male and one female," said Nahed al-Majdub, Bissan's manager, on Tuesday. "It is the first time lions have been born in the Gaza Strip," he added.
The cubs now face a life of captivity within captivity. Animals are kept in cages next to picnic areas. Bissan is one of several zoos in Gaza, most of which are populated with animals brought through smuggling tunnels.
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