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Sharon Cohen has orchestrated the transfer of 608 donkeys to Europe since 2022, most of them to France. Some were entrusted to her by Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza. The soldiers rescued the animals in the Palestinian enclave, where the war waged by Israel since Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 has killed more than 71,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. This death toll continues to rise despite the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025.

Save the donkeys from the war in Gaza! This rallying cry has echoed across Europe among some animal rights activists. It hardly matters whether the animals truly escaped the war or are simply poor beasts of burden bought from Palestinian owners in Israel. Cohen, 43, believes that almost all Arab owners, in both Palestine and Israel, force their donkeys to work in unacceptable conditions.

Four donkeys were destined for a shelter in Germany. Al Jazeera highlighted the paradox: “Germany has welcomed donkeys evacuated from Gaza. But it blocks the entry of Palestinian children who need medical evacuation.” Since the spring, Palestinians have expressed outrage at Cohen’s efforts. They accuse her of “stealing” Gaza’s donkeys, while two million civilians displaced by the army wander from one end of the enclave to the other, on foot and on carts pulled by emaciated animals.

The operation led by Cohen began well before the war. In the fall of 2022, a senior French civil servant and animal rights advocate drew Le Monde’s attention to a shelter in central France called La Tanière, which took in donkeys “rescued” from an alleged trafficking ring in Gaza. According to the claims, the animals were slaughtered for their skins under horrific conditions. The skins would then be smuggled through tunnels into Egypt and shipped on to China.