Gaza cafe owner offers fish pedicures to improve business

Advertisement

Advertise with us

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - A Gaza cafe owner says his business is booming after he launched a fish pedicure service in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/01/2019 (2831 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GAZA, Palestinian Territory – 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.”

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

A 22-year-old man is dead and an 18-year-old is in hospital in critical condition after a two-vehicle crash on Highway 8 on Thursday evening.

A Gimli RCMP officer was driving north on the highway, near Riverton, when he witnessed the collision at about 6:45 p.m.

A vehicle headed north had passed the Mountie at a high speed before colliding with an SUV that was turning west onto Provincial Road 329 from Highway 8.

The driver of the first vehicle, an 18-year-old man from Arborg, was rushed to hospital by a helicopter ambulance with injuries RCMP describe as serious and life-threatening.

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Preview

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Deadpool drops by Children’s Hospital to say thanks on behalf of Olympian’s family

Kelly-Anne Riess 3 minute read Preview

Deadpool drops by Children’s Hospital to say thanks on behalf of Olympian’s family

Kelly-Anne Riess 3 minute read Yesterday at 6:21 PM CDT

For Olympian Justin Duff, rappelling down the side of a hospital was more than a test of nerve. It was a chance to give back to a place that helped his family through a frightening time.

On Friday, Duff, a former professional volleyball player who competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, was one of several local community leaders and emergency-service workers who descended the side of the Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital for the fifth-annual Suspended Superheroes fundraiser.

Dressed as Deadpool, Duff took his time while making his way down the building, pausing at each floor’s window to wave and smile at the children and parents inside.

“Being able to bring a little bit of joy to these kids who are really fighting, it’s a great thing to do,” he said.

Read
Yesterday at 6:21 PM CDT

Gordon Bell rings in a century

Maggie Macintosh 13 minute read Preview

Gordon Bell rings in a century

Maggie Macintosh 13 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:06 PM CDT

Mischka Valencia had gotten used to the hum of heavy machinery at Gordon Bell High School.

“Ever since I’ve been here, it’s all been under construction,” the Grade 12 student said, standing on the sidelines of the brightly painted revamped outdoor basketball court. “I had no idea this was a court.”

The Filipina teenager landed in Winnipeg several months after the inner-city campus had transformed into a construction site.

It was the fall of 2023 and Mischka’s priorities were fitting in, befriending classmates and learning a third language via first-period French.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:06 PM CDT

Gaza cafe owner offers fish pedicures to improve business

Fares Akram, The Associated Press 1 minute read Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019

GAZA, Palestinian Territory - 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.

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

Malak Abas 12 minute read Preview

A day on the campaign trail: Winnipeg's mayor, seeking a second term, does double duty

Malak Abas 12 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:56 PM CDT

In the weeks leading up to the civic election, Scott Gillingham has been performing a juggling act: he’s running to be Winnipeg’s 45th mayor, while still serving as its 44th.

“If someone asks me about the campaign, I’m going to answer them. But I think for most people, I’m the mayor of Winnipeg, even if I’m showing up as a candidate,” Gillingham, 58, says. “I try to do all I can to maintain that distinction.”

The Free Press joined Gillingham on a recent rainy September Saturday on the campaign trail, where he served in both roles during an event-laden day. City council’s final meeting before the Oct. 28 election was days earlier.

In Winnipeg, it’s rare for an incumbent to be defeated. But Gillingham knows his win in 2022 wasn’t exactly a landslide — he won with 27.5 per cent of the vote — and he’s been thinking about his second term ever since.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:56 PM CDT