Gaza cafe owner offers fish pedicures to improve business

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Gaza cafe owner says his business is booming after he launched a fish pedicure service in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

A 30-minute session costs about $8 — a hefty sum in the impoverished coastal enclave. But Mahmoud Othman has had dozens of customers and people seem willing to pay for a temporary escape from difficult living conditions in the Palestinian territory.

After getting Israeli approval, he imported hundreds of small freshwater fish nicknamed “doctor fish” and added a fish spa section to his hookah bar and cafe.

The fish, which feed off the top layers of dead skin of the feet, are used in spas as a peeling method for years around the world.

Among the benefits, Othman believes the treatment “helps the body get rid of negative energy.”