No truth to reports of two hundred cows escaping and crossing into Gaza Strip

A photo of a group of cows has been circulating on social media, with claims that it shows the escape of more than 200 cows towards the Gaza Strip. The photo was accompanied by the following text: “More than 200 cows escaped, crossed the Green Line and arrived in Beit Hanoun a short while ago. God’s blessing, people of Gaza. The photo is real, from inside Beit Hanoun.”

Kashif verified the photo via Google Images search and found it to be old and the claim fabricated. The photo was circulated in 2018, and photojournalist Abdul Hakim Abu Riash denied the veracity of the circulated information. 

An account called “Suleiman Wonderland” posted the circulated photo on Facebook, along with a group of other photos, on 12/8/2018. It explained that it was related to the phenomenon of cows spreading in the “Shatt Soliman” region of Tunisia at that time. 

Kashif contacted photojournalist Abdul Hakim Abu Riash from northern Gaza, who denied the circulating information about 200 cows escaping and crossing the border into the Gaza Strip. He added that this rumor was circulated by activists on social media, but is completely unfounded. 

Abu Riash added that it is illogical for cows to cross the border while the Israeli army is present there. He explained that the Gaza Strip markets have been empty of meat and chicken for months, and that when meat and chicken are available, their price is high, exceeding 500 shekels per kilogram. 

Kashif Israeli-Hebrew affairs team searched the media and official Hebrew websites and found no mention of the circulating news about the cows escaping and entering the Gaza Strip. 

The Gaza Strip is experiencing a severe meat and poultry shortage due to the Israeli occupation’s closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing since 2/3/2025, preventing the entry of goods and humanitarian aid. This closure has caused frozen meat to disappear from the market, and the prices of what remains have skyrocketed.