Numerous packs of feral dogs from the Gaza Strip have entered Israeli border towns in recent weeks, raising concerns about the spread of disease, Ynet reported.

Dr. Yehoshua Shkedy, the chief scientist and director at Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, said, “I was in the Gaza border area of Be’eri and Re’im yesterday. The number of stray dogs entering from the Gaza Strip is immense. In the small area I surveyed, there were dozens of dogs.”

“These dogs are a problem for nature because they prey on any animal they encounter. And if they spread diseases, they also pose a danger to human life. We’ve already seen a girl who died from a stray dog’s bite in Bir Hadaj [a Bedouin town in the Negev].”

The Agriculture Ministry said it was “monitoring the situation and supporting local authorities which are responsible for dealing with stray animals in general and particularly in the Western Negev.”

“The budget includes funding for the capture of hundreds of dogs, their maintenance in quarantine, vaccination with two rabies shots, microchipping and spaying and neutering them,” the ministry said.

Although the increased number of dogs in the Gaza border communities is due to the fact that the residents have evacuated the area, the problem of feral dogs in Israel is not new. Last year, there were over 25,000 feral dogs in the Negev area in southern Israel and another 10,000 in other parts of the country.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)