Hamas returns snatched lioness, now on mincemeat rations in Gaza

Hamas has liberated another kidnap victim - Sabrina, a lioness stolen at gunpoint from a private zoo in Gaza City, press reports say.

Hamas security forces came across this malnourished feline -- defanged, declawed and missing part of her tail-- during a raid on a local clan of criminals. After a shootout, the force commander, Abu Hamam al-Deeb, said they also seized illegal drugs and arms.

Sabrina, who ought to devour four kilos of meat per day, was returned to the zoo skinny and bedraggled.

She was reunited with her mate, Sakher. The two lions, brought to Gaza from Egypt as cubs two years ago, were soon sparring and chasing each other around their cage as if they had never been parted.

The zoo's owner, Saoud al-Shawwa, told reporters: "We will start a long, arduous treatment to ensure she can survive. She will only eat minced meat from now on, so we feel sorry for her. They should punish the criminals who did this."

Hamas acted after a local arts and cultural society named the thieves. It lodged a complaint after the lioness was spotted in a Gaza photography studio during a Muslim holiday. Her captors were said to be charging a dollar for people to have their picture taken with her.

A scenario not exactly foreseen by reggae star Bob Marley, whose son Ziggy is a frequent visitor to Israel:

"I have to run like a fugitive to save the life I live...I'm gonna be iron like a lion in zion. Iron. Lion. Zion."