An animal lover in Gaza City has a made mini zoo inside his house where he keeps dozens of exotic birds and reptiles.

Rashid Anbar's home in the western part of the city is filled with cages and plastic storage boxes housing colorful parrots, docile lizards, and non-venomous snakes. Children in his neighbourhood would often pay a visit to play with the rare animals.

Rashid said he started the mini zoo, called 'My Animal Friend,' to teach children to be kind while dealing with different types of animals. He said: 'I came up with the idea because I love animals and wanted to do something outside the box.

'I train the animals so that the children can handle them and play with them safely. I'm confident that the snakes and birds are not aggressive.'

Aside from the live creatures, Rashid also displays taxidermy models made from the zoo animals after death. He keeps them on a shelf, along with several snakes preserved in formaldehyde-filled jars.

About 30 to 40 birds and a similar number of reptiles can be found in the home zoo, Rashid said. He added: 'I want to have a mobile bus for animals. I hope that I can get funding from institutions interested in this idea.'