Donkeys are now the main form of transport in Gaza. Meet the vet keeping them alive

In September, Dr Saif Alden – a veterinary surgeon in Gaza – received a late-night call. His friend Alaa had gone into labour. 

“She needed to reach a hospital immediately, but the roads were either destroyed or blocked, and no ambulances could get through,” he says. “Time was running out.” 

When Alaa’s waters broke, the Israel military offensive in Gaza – triggered by Hamas terror attacks on 7 October 2023 – had been ongoing for almost a year. Much of the tiny enclave was (and remains) impassable by vehicle; in the first year of conflict, bombardment destroyed 70% of its road network. 

Better able to navigate rubble, donkeys are often the most reliable mode of transport. And Dr Alden is a man who knows how to procure a donkey. 

“She was placed on the cart and the donkey navigated through a bombed-out street,” he says. “She arrived in time and safely delivered her baby.” 

Now five months old, Nur Mohammed is doing well. The story of his birth – his mother carried to safety atop a mule – has more than a touch of biblical allusion. But it’s a daily reality in Gaza, where donkeys provide a crucial service. 

Alden – whose work is funded by UK-registered NGO Safe Haven for Donkeys – estimates that up to 90% of Gazans depend on donkeys for transportation and economic survival, up from around 15% before the war.  

The recent ceasefire means that Gaza is no longer an active war zone. But donkeys remain “absolutely vital”, says Ciro Fiorillo, head of office of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Palestine. Fuel shortages, damaged roads and restricted access make mechanised transport “unreliable or impossible”. 

“Animals like donkeys, horses and mules serve as a lifeline,” he says. “They carry goods – food, water and other essentials – and move people and aid supplies through streets where vehicles cannot operate.” 

It’s difficult to tally the total number of donkeys in Gaza. FAO assessments show 3,964 working animals still alive as of February 2025, but the organisation concedes the difficulty of obtaining data in what was until very recently an active warzone. Dr Alden believes the total number of animals to be greater than this: “While we acknowledge the UN FAO’s data, our field experience suggests a higher figure.” 

Safe Haven for Donkeys has treated more than 5,000 donkeys, he claims, including uncounted animals in rural and hard-to-reach communities. 

“If we have treated over 5,000 sick or injured donkeys, it is reasonable to assume that a comparable number remain healthy and do not require medical intervention,” Dr Alden said. “This suggests an estimated total of 10,000 donkeys in Gaza, with a similar number likely having perished due to the war.” 

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Even before the war, donkeys were important in the densely populated, impoverished Gaza. Israel’s decade-and-a-half economic embargo limited the supply of trucks and fuel, so donkey carts hauled produce, building materials and rubbish. 

When the war started, they became animal ambulances. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Israeli military offensive killed more than 46,000 people between October 2023 and January 2025. A further 110,000 were wounded. 

“Donkeys have become the primary mode of transportation for people in need of urgent medical care,” explains Dr Alden. 

Nine in 10 Gazans have been displaced; evacuating and re-evacuating in pursuit of ever-shifting ‘safe zones’. Donkeys facilitated much of this movement. At points during the war, the cost of a gallon of fuel surged to an eye-watering US$28 (£22). Donkey prices shot up accordingly. Before October 2023, a cart and donkey might have fetched US$800 (£630), Dr Alden estimates. In September last year, this combination would set you back more than US$3,000 (£2,360). 

The demands take a serious toll on the working animals. The “severe shortage” of fodder and veterinary medicines in Gaza leaves them hungry and sick, says Fiorillo. 

“Animals [are] malnourished and vulnerable. And with widespread economic strain and rising costs, many owners struggle to afford proper care for their animals, further undermining their ability to work.” 

In this context, Safe Haven for Donkeys provides immediate medical care, distribution of food and supplies. They are currently raising money in the UK to facilitate their operations. 

On the ground, staff take considerable personal risk. Mohammed – Alaa’s husband, who works with the charity – once rode his bike across Gaza to deliver a sack of barley to the owner of a starving, wounded donkey. “For what crime should these innocent animals suffer?” he asks. 

Recently, the team treated a mule in Khuza’a – a town just a few hundred metres from the Israeli border. The elderly owner’s home had been destroyed and he was transporting his belongings to Bani Suhaila when a stray bullet hit his donkey. 

“It wasn’t just a donkey – it was this man’s only means of survival, his companion in a world that has taken so much from him,” Dr Alden says. “When we finished [treating the donkey], he couldn’t stop thanking us…

“We’re hopeful the donkey will recover, and we’ll continue to follow up until it’s fully healed.” 

The cessation of hostilities has brought a degree of relief for the long-suffering people of Gaza – but for vets, the “scale of the crisis has only grown”, Dr Alden adds. 

Lugging supplies, carrying families back to their homes, clearing rubble: donkeys are “everywhere” – and everywhere they are suffering. 

For now, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds. But the future remains deeply uncertain. US president Donald Trump recently proposed expelling 2.1 million Palestinians from Gaza and transforming the enclave into a “Riviera” that would be owned by the United States.

The Palestinian Authority – based in the West Bank – has called that proposal a “serious violation of international law”. Trump responded by posting an AI-generated video of ‘Trump’s Gaza,’ featuring a CGI Elon Musk eating hummus in the shadow of giant skyscrapers. 

But as the president jokingly envisages his ‘Trumpified’ Gaza, its people carry on. So do their animals. 

“Donkeys are not only surviving but also saving lives in the midst of unimaginable hardship,” Dr Alden says. 

“It underscores the vital, often overlooked role these animals play in humanitarian crises.” 

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