Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: Another salvo of missiles was also identified being fired toward the south
Israeli media: Another salvo of missiles was identified toward the center and al-Quds
Home Front Command: New missiles detected en route to 'Israel'
Israeli media: Sirens sound again in the Golan Heights
Israeli media: Sirens sound in western al-Jalil
Israeli media: Sirens sound in the north [of occupied Palestine]
Israeli media: Missiles fired from Iran toward the north were detected
Iranian Army: Received information indicate that most of the drones hit their designated targets
Iranian Army: This morning, we began implementing the ninth and tenth stages of the drone attack by launching dozens of drones toward the [Israeli] entity
The Israeli army's investigation into the rocket that fell in Haifa without warning: The Iranian missile's warhead was not detected

Asbestos endangers Gazan lives amid the Israeli war: BBC

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: BBC
  • 25 Apr 2025 16:12
  • 4 Shares
5 Min Read

As Gazans grapple with the harsh realities of life under war, asbestos is dispersed in the air from airstrikes on buildings, posing a massive health risk that will have long-term effects over the next decades.

Listen
  • x
  • Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli army airstrike on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (AP)
    Palestinians inspect the damage caused by an Israeli army airstrike on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP)

"Israel's" military campaign in Gaza has not only caused widespread destruction but also unleashed a silent killer, asbestos, a mineral once commonly used in building materials, which releases carcinogenic toxic fibers. 

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), asbestos in Gaza is primarily found in roofing materials across the territory's eight urban refugee camps, established for Palestinians who were displaced or forced from their homes during the 1948-49 Nakba.

In October 2024, UNEP released an estimate suggesting that as much as 2.3 million tons of rubble scattered throughout Gaza could contain asbestos contamination.

"The Gaza rubble is a very, very toxic environment," Professor Bill Cookson, director of the National Centre for Mesothelioma Research in London told the BBC, emphasizing that "People are going to suffer acutely, but also in the longer term as well, things that children may carry throughout their lives."

"The lives lost now are not going to end here. The legacy is going to continue," said Liz Darlison, CEO of Mesothelioma UK, according to the BBC.

When an air strike or similar disturbance breaks apart asbestos-containing materials, microscopic fibers, invisible to the naked eye, become airborne where they can be inhaled by nearby individuals, eventually penetrating deep into the delicate lining of the lungs.

Over the long term, these inhaled fibers can trigger progressive scarring within the lung tissue, a destructive process that may develop into asbestosis, a severe pulmonary disease, or potentially escalate into mesothelioma, an aggressive and often fatal form of lung cancer.

"Mesothelioma is a terrible, intractable illness," Professor Crookson said, emphasizing that "The really worrying thing, is that it's not dose related. So even small inhalations of asbestos fibre can cause subsequent mesothelioma. It grows within the pleural cavity. It's extremely painful. It's always diagnosed late. And it's pretty well resistant to all treatments."

Mesothelioma typically develops 20 to 60 years after initial asbestos exposure, creating a delayed health crisis that means Gaza may not see the full consequences for decades, while medical experts indicate that both higher concentrations and prolonged periods of exposure can dramatically speed up the disease's progression.

Dr. Ryan Hoy, whose research on dust inhalation was referenced by UNEP, explains that avoiding asbestos fibers is exceptionally challenging due to their microscopic size, as they are "really tiny particles that float in the air and can penetrate deep into the lungs," a risk further compounded by Gaza's extreme population density, which makes exposure even harder to prevent.

Related News

Sirens blast across 'Israel' following missile attack

Palestine Action sabotages RAF base over UK role in Gaza war

Gaza, with a population of roughly 2.1 million people, occupies just 365 square kilometers, making its land area about one-fourth the size of London while accommodating this dense concentration of residents.

Asbestos risk ignored amid Gaza war

"At this point in time, [dust inhalation] is not something that is perceived as a worrying thing by the population. They even don't have things to eat, and they're more afraid to be killed by the bombs," according to Chiara Lodi, who serves as the medical coordinator in Gaza for the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières.

"The lack of awareness about the risks of asbestos, combined with the ongoing challenges [people in Gaza] face in trying to rebuild their lives, means they are unable to take the necessary measures to protect themselves," said a representative from the humanitarian organization SOS Children's Villages.

They added that many people in Gaza are "not fully aware of the harmful effects of the dust and debris".

Following the 2009 conflict in Gaza, a United Nations survey conducted across the territory revealed the presence of asbestos in various structures, including older buildings, temporary extensions, storage sheds, roofing materials, and even the walls of animal enclosures, demonstrating the widespread contamination left in the wake of destruction.

Asbestos not the only risk

Beyond the well-documented dangers of asbestos, another significant but often overlooked health threat emerges from silica dust exposure, which can lead to the development of silicosis, a debilitating lung disease.

Silica dust is a harmful particulate created when cutting, grinding, or drilling materials like concrete, stone, or sand.

According to the BBC, Dr. Hoy warns that Gaza's overwhelming dust concentrations may trigger a cascade of respiratory health complications ranging from heightened susceptibility to upper and lower respiratory tract infections and pneumonia to severe aggravations of pre-existing conditions such as asthma.

He also noted that acute dust exposure could potentially accelerate the development or progression of chronic pulmonary disorders, including emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

As competing reconstruction plans for Gaza emerge from the United States and a coalition of Arab states, United Nations officials emphasize the critical need for meticulous management of the rebuilding process to prevent the dangerous dispersal of asbestos-laden debris that currently permeates the territory's extensive rubble fields.

"Unfortunately," Ms Darlison told the BBC, "the very properties that made us use so much of it are the properties that make it difficult to get rid of."

A UNEP spokesperson warned the BBC that debris removal operations could significantly heighten risks of asbestos disturbance, potentially releasing dangerous fibers into the atmosphere, while a separate UNEP assessment projected that the complete clearance of rubble might require up to 21 years of continuous effort with financial costs potentially reaching $1.2 billion (£929 million).

  • war on Gaza
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Gaza genocide
  • Gaza
  • Asbestos

Most Read

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

Iran launches 9th wave of Op. True Promise 3, destroys IOF air defense

  • MENA
  • 17 Jun 2025
Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025 (AP)

Wave 12 of Operation True Promise 3 launched, Sejjil deployed: IRGC

  • Politics
  • 18 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches missile barrage to Tel Aviv, casualties reported

True Promise 3, wave 14: Tel Aviv targeted, casualties reported

  • Politics
  • 19 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, speaks with then-Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, January 17, 2017 (AP)
Politics

Iran holds the initiative after nuclear strikes, Shamkhani says

Blood stains a religious painting inside Mar Elias Church, where a suicide bomber detonated himself in al-Dwela, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, June 22, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN, regional governments condemn Damascus church bombing

A B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base Missouri, Sunday, June 22, 2025, after returning from a massive strike on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday (AP)
Politics

Israeli media: US-Israeli strike on Iran failed to end war

China UN Ambassador Fu Cong addresses the United Nations Security Council, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Politics

China slam US strikes on Iran nuclear sites

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS