First Record of the Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) in the Gaza Strip and its Consumption during the Famine in the Midst of the Israeli War Following October 7, 2023

The Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) is a deep-water species rarely seen near the coast. Previous studies have not reported the presence of this species in the Mediterranean waters of the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Therefore, this modest study reveals the first record of it in the Gaza Strip, and examines its capture and consumption by Gazans suffering from the famine imposed by Israel during its war following October 7, 2023. The current study relied on collecting data related to the Striped Dolphin by monitoring news websites and social media platforms to cover this rare event in the Gaza Strip. The results showed that the capture of the Striped Dolphin by a fisherman in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, in January 2025, represented a new addition to the two species known to be present in the Mediterranean waters of the Gaza Strip, namely the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758). Despite conflicting reports about whether the Striped Dolphin washed ashore or was caught in a fishing net, the fisherman took the dolphin home, cooked it, and distributed it among Gazan families who have been suffering from hunger, famine, protein deprivation, poverty, and diseases for months under the Israeli war and blockade on the Gaza Strip. The event seems very strange to Gazans, where fishermen have for decades been returning the dolphins they by-catch to the sea, believing them to be of ecological importance and not part of their diet. The incident of Gazans eating a Striped Dolphin received unprecedented coverage on social media platforms and in Palestinian, Israeli, and international media. Some excused the Gazans for their behavior under their difficult circumstances, while others blamed them and described them as enemies of the environment and its preservation, despite the fact that eating endangered marine creatures, including dolphins, is common in many countries, both developed and developing.

Keywords:First record; Striped Dolphin; Stenella coeruleoalba; By-catch; Stranding; Consumption; Famine; Israeli war; Media coverage; Gaza Strip; Palestine

Palestine (27,000km²) is home to diverse Mediterranean marine biodiversity [1-3]. Many cetacean (baleen and toothed whales) species, which are subject to intensive hunting worldwide for their meat, blubber, and oil [4], live in the waters of the Palestinian Mediterranean Sea, and strandings are recorded from time to time [5-9]. In fact, cetacean and dolphin strandings are a global phenomenon with multiple causes and intensity [7-13]. According to local studies, only two species of dolphins have been identified as having been spotted or stranded in the Gaza Strip, the most common being the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821), while the least common is the Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758) [1,8,9]. Dolphin strandings and deaths can be attributed to various causes as noted by Öztürk B & Öztürk AA [14], Díaz-Delgado, et al. [15], Cuvertoret-Sanz, et al. [16] and Kaddouri, et al. [17]. In January 2025, a Gazan fisherman was seen carrying a dead Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, after it was found drifting on the beach or possibly entangled in fishing nets. Reports circulated widely in the media and on social media [18,19] that the Striped Dolphin’s meat had been cooked and eaten by many Palestinian families living in tragic conditions under Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, and the accompanying destruction, killing, displacement, blockade, and severe starvation.

The Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) is a species belonging to order Cetacea and family Delphinidae. It is a deep-water species rarely seen near the coast [20]. Numerous studies have examined the Striped Dolphin from biological and ecological perspectives, or as part of marine mammal surveys in various countries of the eastern and southern Mediterranean [21- 35]. Despite numerous specialized Israeli studies on the presence of Striped Dolphins in the Mediterranean [14,31], no studies have been conducted indicating the presence of this species in the Mediterranean waters off the Gaza Strip. Accordingly, this modest study highlights the first record of Striped Dolphins in the marine waters off the Gaza Strip, following the stranding or bycatch of a dead specimen of the Strip in January 2025.

The current short descriptive study relied on collecting data and images related to the occurrence, stranding and eating of the Striped Dolphin by monitoring news websites and social media platforms to document and analyze the ecological, social, and media aspects of this rare event. The Gaza Strip (Figure 1) is an arid to semi-arid strip of Palestinian territory located in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. It is 42km long and covers an area of 365km². Its current population exceeds 2.4 million, making the Gaza Strip one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a brutal war, described by international observers, legal experts, and political analysts as a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. To date, the Israeli military has killed tens of thousands of Gazans, wounded more than 130,000, and repeatedly displaced nearly 90% of the population. Most of the population is suffering from a deliberate famine imposed by Israel during its painful war on the Gaza Strip, forcing Gazans to seek any form of food they can obtain, including terrestrial wildlife (mammals and birds) or marine animals such as sharks, rays, sea turtles, and even dolphins.

Figure 1:A map showing the geographic position of Palestine and the Gaza Strip.

The first record of the striped dolphin in the gaza strip

The significance of the incident involving the capture of a Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) by a fisherman in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, in the first half of January 2025, lies in the fact that it adds significantly to the new and first-of-its-kind record of this unique species in the Gaza Strip’s marine waters (Figure 2). The two known species of dolphins that have been frequently seen in the marine waters of the Gaza Strip are the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758).

The story of obtaining the striped dolphin

On January 12, 2025, several Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, and international media outlets reported that a fisherman from Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, had recently found a dead Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833). Reports conflicted as to whether it had washed ashore or become entangled in fishing nets (Figure 2). Surrounded by a large crowd of fishermen, vacationers, and passersby, including children who had never seen a dolphin before, the fisherman carried the dolphin away from the Mediterranean coast to his home in the Khan Yunis refugee camp.

The dolphin was then prepared and cooked to be served to the many Gazan families who had suffered from hunger and famine for months due to the Israeli war that had been raging on the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

Figure 2:A Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) carried by a Gazan fisherman from Khan Yunis, Southern Gaza Strip, after it washed ashore or became entangled in fishing net in January 2025.

The ruling on eating dolphins in islam

According to most jurists, eating dolphins is permissible, because they are sea animals that live only in water. The Holy Qur’an states: “Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and for the travelers” [Surat Al-Maida: 96]. From the official website of His Eminence Sheikh Saleh bin Mohammed Bakrman (https://www.salehbakrman.com/?p=9494), the Islamic ruling on eating dolphins is clear. He said: “The dolphin is permissible because it is a whale and is a sea game and food. Allah Almighty has made sea game and food permissible for us”. Allah Almighty says: “Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you and for the travelers”. [Surat Al-Maida: 96]. On the other hand, there is nothing in Islam that prohibits eating dolphin meat, and this has been proven by the noble hadiths of the Prophet. On the authority of Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said about the sea: “Its water is pure and its dead are permissible”. Also on the authority of Abdullah bin Omar, may God be pleased with them both, that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Two dead things and two types of blood are permissible for you: The two dead things are fish and locusts, and the two types of blood are the liver and the spleen”.

Targeted striped dolphin description

As shown in Figure 2, the Striped Dolphin specimen was over 200cm long. The length was estimated based on the height of the fisherman holding it; unfortunately, precise measurements were not made. The overall appearance of the specimen suggests that the dolphin had recently stranded and showed no visible signs of decomposition, even if very slight, which prompted the fisherman to retrieve it and prepare it for consumption. Overall, this is the first time in the Gaza Strip that a Striped Dolphin has been closely identified, compared to the two other species that have been reported stranded multiple times: The Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758). The stranded specimen of the Striped Dolphin has many black bars or stripes on its sides, which may explain the animal’s name. The appendages represented by the dorsal fin, flippers (pectoral fins) and fluke (caudal or tail fin) are dark in color. The dorsal fin is large and strongly curved. The flippers are slender and pointed, their dark color contrasting with the surrounding light area. The fluke is relatively small and unnotched. The beak is long, dark, and prominent. In general, the back is darker in color while the underside is lighter in color.

Possible causes of the appearance of the striped dolphins in the gaza strip

Due to the wartime circumstances, news sites and social media platforms have not specified how the Striped Dolphin was retrieved from the sea. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the possible reasons for this appearance, as follows:
Entanglement in fishing nets: Due to the war, fishing has decreased dramatically; both by boat and net, and fishermen are risking their lives. Many have been killed as a result of being targeted by the Israeli military. However, due to the protein shortage in the Gaza Strip, it is likely that the Striped Dolphin got caught in fishing net and was then dragged to shore in good condition by a fisherman, who then carried it away from the shore and took it home to prepare it as a meal. Here, the dolphin catch was typically accidental and that the meat is not traditionally part of the Gazan diet.
Dead beaching or stranding: Another possibility is that the striped dolphin washed ashore, as Gaza fishermen are prohibited from entering deep waters due to the ongoing war. Striped dolphins are extremely sensitive animals, avoiding coastal areas unless they are sick or dying. Therefore, the dolphin may have washed ashore dead due to illness or exposure to military sonar. In this regard, the Israeli military is constantly present at sea off the coast of the Gaza Strip, and Israeli military training and activities continue and increase as a result of the war.

Why did gazans eat the striped dolphin and other marine creatures?

Striped Dolphins are targeted and hunted for human consumption in certain areas of the world, and even occasionally in the Mediterranean Sea. In the Gaza Strip, for decades before the Israeli war, fishermen used to return the dolphins they by-caught to the sea, believing them to be of ecological importance and not part of their diet. But in light of the ongoing Israeli war that began on October 7, 2023, famine and protein deprivation have taken a toll on the bodies of Gazans, leaving them starving, emaciated, and sick (Figure 3), forcing them to seek out anything animal or plant to satisfy their hunger. Here is a list of the main reasons why Gazans hunted and ate so many wildlife, including large marine creatures such as sea turtles, sharks, and even the Striped Dolphin-the subject of this study:

Figure 3:Hunger and famine are looming dangers for the bodies of Gazan children.

a) The Israeli blockade: The Israeli occupation has imposed a blockade on the entire Gaza Strip since 2007, preventing the delivery of many basic necessities to Gazans. However, this blockade has become increasingly terrifying and brutal in light of the ongoing war since October 7, 2023, preventing the arrival of all types of food, medicines, maintenance equipment, infrastructure supplies, and more.

b) Destruction of agricultural and animal production: The agricultural sector, both plant and animal represents the backbone of the Gaza Strip’s economy and the livelihoods of its residents. Since the outbreak of the current war, agricultural lands, crops, and all forms of vegetation have been destroyed, bulldozed, and polluted, leading to desertification which means a decline in the biological productivity of ecosystems. Livestock production, represented by livestock farms and the poultry sector, which provide animal protein to Gazans, has also been severely devastated.

c) Destruction of the marine and aquaculture fisheries sector: Fish production in the Gaza Strip was low (about 4,000 tons annually) before the war due to the aging of the fishing fleet, Israeli control over the fishing zone available to fishermen, and the persecution of fishermen and their boats off the coast. During the ongoing war, marine and farmed fish production has declined by more than 90%, causing a severe shortage of fish protein due to the Israeli ban on fishing in the Gaza Strip, the destruction of marine and inland fish farms, the destruction of more than 90% of the already fragile fishing fleet, and the suspension of some frozen fish imports. The result has been a decline in fish protein production, which is essential for health and nutrition.

d) Famine and protein deprivation: The Israeli occupation used famine as a lethal weapon in its war on the Gaza Strip, exhausting the bodies of Gazans, especially the sick, children, and marginalized groups (Figure 3). Israel prevented the entry of humanitarian aid trucks from some countries, which remained held on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. These Israeli measures manifested in depriving Gazans of essential animal protein.

e) The spread of epidemics and diseases: The worsening environmental pollution, coupled with the famine that swept the Gaza Strip during the Israeli war, has negatively impacted public health. Gazans, especially children, suffers from general emaciation, weight loss, and weakened immunity, making them vulnerable to the spread of epidemics and diseases. Patients and war-wounded people need healthy foods containing essential nutrients and nutritional supplements, but they are unable to find them due to their scarcity and high prices, further exacerbating their dire conditions.

Media coverage of the event

There have been numerous previous dolphin strandings in the Gaza Strip, but none has received as much media and social media attention as this particular species, which has been cooked and eaten by people grieving war and famine. On the media front, Palestinian, Israeli, and international media outlets covered the event, each speaking from their own perspective, according to their own goals and orientations. This may be the first time a dolphin has been cooked and eaten, as dolphins are not, and never will be, on the menus of the people of Gaza. Media outlets covered the news and analyzed it from the perspective that dolphins are protected creatures that should not be violated, while others discussed the strangeness of the event for Gazans. Still others addressed the issue from the perspective that dolphins are apex predators with relatively long lifespan, and thus accumulate hazardous substances, such as heavy metals, in their bodies. The following lines review some of the news reported by friendly and hostile media outlets regarding the capture and preparation of the Striped Dolphin for food in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip:
a. Gaza residents feast on beached dolphin.
b. Gaza fishermen catches dolphin for family dinner.
c. Gaza fishermen catch a dolphin – and people are NOT happy.
d. Fisherman catches dolphin in Gaza, cooks it amid food shortages.
e. Palestinian fishermen forced to hunt dolphins for survival amid starvation crisis.
f. “Poison on a plate of mercury”: Hunger drives Gazans to eat dolphins.
g. Israel criticizes Gaza residents for ‘eating internationally protected species’ amid deadly famine.
h. Israeli media attacks Gazans who ate a dolphin out of hunger.
i. The story of “Dolphin”... It turned into a meal that satisfied the hunger of some Gaza residents.
j. “They ate dolphins and sharks”: Israeli anger against Gaza fishermen.
k. Hunger drives Gazans to eat dolphins and sharks, while the occupation criticizes.
l. Embracing its rare catch: A dolphin in Gaza angers Israelis and ignites widespread controversy.
m. Why eating washed-up dolphins could be a health disaster, expert explains.

Social media coverage of the event

On the other hand, many social media platforms contributed to covering the event, as follows:
I see people worried about dolphins, but not about starving children in Gaza.
The Hebrew media, which supports its government’s genocide, describes the Gazans’ hunting of a dolphin as horrific.
Sad: “People in Gaza found a dolphin and eat it”.
They are hungry.

The Gazans-those hateful people-caught a dolphin and ate it. Of course, there is nothing to indicate that Israel is practically starving them to death.

The world is disturbed and shocked by a dolphin eaten by children. Food and water have been denied for a year. 98% of Gaza’s children suffer from anemia due to hunger. The world itself has ignored the twenty thousand children who were slaughtered and cut into pieces.

“Health and wellness”... “Dolphin” saves Gazans from hunger.
“Blighted Gaza”: When eating dolphins becomes more horrifying than bombs.
Gaza fishermen’s cruel dolphin capture draws international condemnation.

Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833) are deepsea creatures [36] found in the Mediterranean Sea far from shore. The lack of specialists and equipment specializing in the study of marine mammals in the Gaza Strip have led to a lack of adequate knowledge of dolphin species existing in the marine ecosystem, despite the presence of several dolphin species in the marine waters of Palestine as pointed out by Kerem, et al. [7]. Local Gazan studies and reports have shown the presence of the Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) and the Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758) in the Gaza Strip [8,9,37,38]. Controversy still rages over the mechanism of the Striped Dolphin’s capture-whether it was by-caught in fishing nets, despite the scarcity of fishing during the war, or washed ashore dead. In any case, this is a golden opportunity for Gazans to record this species among the marine mammals in their marine environment. In this regard, the Gaza Strip has not been without records of rare and ecologically important marine creatures. A similar notable event was recorded for the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus Hermann 1779), a marine mammal, in 2023, for the first time along the Mediterranean coast of Palestine, including the coast of the Gaza Strip [39,40].

Indeed, the current Israeli war conditions, accompanied by the blockade, deliberate starvation, protein deficiency, and the spread of diseases and epidemics, have pushed some Gazans to seek any source of food, even endangered animals. Although no one denies the limited consumption of globally endangered sea turtles in the Gaza Strip [1,8,41-43], their hunting and consumption have increased during the Israeli-imposed famine. This is clearly evident in various media outlets and social media platforms. It is not surprising that this scenario extended to the sample of the Striped Dolphin, which is the subject to this study. The dolphin meat was cooked and served to many Gazan families who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from severe protein deficiency for months. As the saying goes, hunger is blasphemy, and people may resort to eating foods they never dreamed of consuming. In Islamic law, many Gazans believe that there is no Quranic verse or hadith that prohibits eating dolphin meat, and therefore they consider eating dolphin meat permissible (halal).

Although Gazans were aware that dolphins were creatures that should be protected and preserved, as evidenced by the fact that before the Israeli war, fishermen would return dolphins by-caught in their nets to the sea, dolphins were not, and never will be, part of their diet. In contrast, many dolphin species have been hunted worldwide for human consumption, and some studies have shown an increase in the consumption of dolphins hunted in conjunction with fishing activities [44-48]. It is worth noting that the meat of apex predators such as dolphins, sharks, and others in the seas and oceans may contain and accumulate various toxins that negatively affect human health [11,24,49-51]. In the same context, after Gazans ate a sample of striped dolphins, Israeli researchers warned against eating dolphin meat because it may contain chemical toxins that are dangerous to the health of those who consume it [52].

The reasons that prompted Gazans to eat a single Striped Dolphin-the first such specimen ever recorded on the beach of the Gaza Strip-are many and varied. Although these marine creatures are not recommended for consumption by Gazans and humans in general, given the global threats they face, their peace and not harming people, and the dangers of toxins they may contain as apex predators [48,52], it is difficult for those who lack the bare necessities of life and are suffering from famine and hunger to adhere to this advice. A poor, hungry person with no food to eat cannot be advised not to hunt a bird or a hare for food. Most of the Gazans suffered from hunger and deprivation of animal and fish proteins during the Israeli war. Indeed, protein is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in maintaining health and supporting various bodily functions. It serves as the building block for tissues, organs, and cells and is necessary for growth, repair, and maintenance. Protein also supports the immune system, transports nutrients, and can be used as an energy source [53-55]. Therefore, Israel’s actions during the war, including the closure of crossings and the tightening of the blockade, the destruction of the fisheries and livestock sectors, including poultry farms, and the destruction of farms and their crops, all contribute to depriving people of protein and other organic and inorganic nutrients necessary for building a healthy body. In this context, several international and humanitarian organizations have warned of the impact of these Israeli actions on the next Palestinian generation and its suffering from serious health problems. Newspapers and humanitarian organizations constantly discuss the dangers of famine, defined as a severe food shortage leading to malnutrition, starvation, and ultimately death. Hundreds of lives, especially infants and children, have been lost in the Gaza Strip due to this famine and the scarcity of medicine (Personal Communications). This fact was confirmed by Kiros and Hogan [56] who pointed out that exposure to famine, war and environmental degradation in Ethiopia, as in the Gaza Strip, has negative impacts on infants and child mortality.

Although this is the only incident involving the eating of a Striped Dolphin in the Gaza Strip, it spread like wildfire across the media and social media platforms. Some of these outlets focused on the incident, forgetting or ignoring the underlying causes. Israeli media reported that while Israel protects dolphins, sea turtles, and cartilaginous fish (sharks and rays) and prohibits their hunting or harm, Palestinians hunt and eat these endangered creatures. But the stark reality, highlighted here, is that before the large-scale Israeli war on October 7, 2023, Palestinian fishermen were releasing dolphins and even some sea turtles that had accidentally fallen into their nets into the sea. However, the severe scarcity resulting from the tightening of the blockade and the ongoing bombardment left them with no choice but to resort to catching some of these relatively large marine creatures as a source of food. In fact, the capture of the Striped Dolphin in the Gaza Strip has divided local opinions, with some viewing them as a necessary food source during the ongoing Israeli war and famine, while others sheepishly point to international conservation standards that discourage dolphin capture. Several Gazan fishermen expressed their dismay, asserting that dolphin captures are usually bycatch and that their meat is not a traditional part of the local diet (Personal Communications). In this regard, Abd Rabou et al. [8,9], who investigated dolphin bycatch and stranding in the Gaza Strip, did not report any previous consumption of dolphin samples because they were not considered part of their diet.