GAZA CITY (AP) – A Palestinian boy has been mauled to death by a lion in a private zoo in the Gaza Strip, according to the coastal territory’s police force. Police officers said 6-year-old Hamada Iqtiet had climbed the fence in the zoo in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, and reached an opening in the cage before the lion mauled him. An investigation was underway, they said. The boy’s family disputed the account, saying Hamada — who was visiting the Asdaa Park with his mother and other family members, according to relatives — had only reached an outer fence, where the lion was standing, when he was attacked.

It was the first known fatality from animals kept at private zoos in the crowded and impoverished Palestinian territory.