A BOY was mauled to death by a lion after climbing into the beast's enclosure.
Hamada Iqtiet, six, was visiting a private zoo in Gaza, Palestine, with his family on Monday when he was savaged by the big cat.
Horror images, which The Sun has chosen not to publish, show the lion mauling the boy after he appeared to become stuck in between the bars of the cage.
Other chilling pictures showed bloodstains on the bars.
Police spokesman Col Ayman Al-Batniji said the lion pounced after the boy climbed through the protective fence in the Asdaa Park zoo in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.
But the boy's family said that the lad, 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.
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Cops have closed the park until an investigation is complete.
It is understood to be the first time anyone has been killed by animals kept at one of the region's several private zoos.
The fatal attack sparked fresh calls for them to be closed, as the animals can not be properly cared for in the crowded and impoverished Palestinian territory.
Animals are believed to be 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.
It comes after a zookeeper was killed by a brown bear in Andijan, Uzbekistan.
The employee, named only as A G, allegedly did not follow safety rules when he went into the enclosure to feed the beast.
Meanwhile, another keeper at a private zoo was fatally savaged when he put his hand through a fence to stroke a tiger during feeding time.
Horrific footage of the attack showed the big cat sinking its claws into his hand and pulling his arm into its mouth.
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