Boy savaged to death by lion after ‘climbing into cage and getting stuck’ at zoo

A six-year-old boy was killed by a lion when he reportedly became stuck in between the bars of the beast's cage at a private zoo.

Hamada Iqtiet went to the attraction with his family and was reportedly mauled to death at the site in the Gaza Strip, Palestine on Monday, May 1.

Police spokesman Col. Ayman Al-Batniji said the boy had climbed through the protective fence in the Asdaa Park zoo in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

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However, the boy's family said that the boy, who was with his mother and other family members, had gone close to an outer fence where the lion was standing when he was attacked.

Footage shows the place where the boy went through the protective fence with bloodstains can be seen on the cage's bars.

It is reportedly the first time anyone has been killed by animals kept at one of the region's several private zoos.

It sparked fresh calls for them to be closed, amid claims the animals can not be properly cared for in the crowded and impoverished Palestinian territory.

The animals are reportedly kept in deplorable conditions and have suffered from repeated fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, leading to neglect, starvation and lack of medical care.

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Although animal rights welfare groups have carried out several rescues of animals, many still remain in the strip that is home to some two million people.

Police confirmed that they had closed the private zoo as a safety precaution, according to reports.

It follows reports of a safari park worker getting mauled to death by the tusks of an elephant in South Africa this week.

Elephant handler Kabelo Mashao, 36, was on park patrol when he noticed one of the huge beasts open a latch on a safety gate at Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve near Ceres in South Africa.

He rushed over to fix the situation when the elephant, whom he apparently "knew well", charged him, stamped him and used its tusks to kill the father-of-two.

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