GAZA CITY, gaza strip — A spooked cow killed a Palestinian man who was trying to slaughter the beast Saturday during the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, a Gaza health official said.
Muslims around the world slaughter sheep, cows and goats, during the four-day holiday that began Friday, giving away much of the meat to the poor. The Muslim holiday commemorates the sacrifice by the Prophet Ibrahim, known to Christians and Jews as Abraham.
But accidents are common as people buy animals to slaughter themselves instead of paying butchers. The festive atmosphere of the slaughtering tends to make the animals fidgety.
The 52-year-old man who died was trampled to death, and another three people were seriously injured when the cow ran wild , said health official Ashraf al-Kidra.
In all, he said about 150 people were hospitalized in the Palestinian territory with knife wounds or other injuries caused by animals trying to break away.
Two similar incidents occurred in Pakistan on Saturday.
In Gaza, where over a third of the territory’s 1.6 million residents live in poverty, few people ever eat fresh meat regularly, making the holiday an even bigger treat.
Impoverished families save all year to pay for an animal to slaughter, with many families often pooling their resources.
Ibrahim al-Kidra, an agriculture ministry official, said about 3,700 cows and sheep are imported for consumption on a regular day, while 42,000 are brought in for the holidays.
Public slaughtering is common in Gaza, where butcher shops are pricey. “It’s neither healthy nor good. But it’s a tradition,” Ibrahim al-Kidra said.
