Palestinians exposed to deadly levels of asbestos in ruined Gaza, expert warns

Israel’s military campaign has damaged or destroyed around half the buildings in the enclave, according to ReliefWeb, citing UN data.

In May, the UN estimated that there were around 800,000 tonnes of asbestos and other contaminates mixed in among 37 million tonnes of debris, which will severely complicate the clean-up.

Asbestos was banned in Israel in 2011, but many older buildings in Gaza will have the material originally valued for its insulation and fire-resistant properties.

When disturbed, asbestos particles can cause various forms of cancer that take years to develop.

UK-based Professor Roger Willey told the Al Jazeera news outlet that airborne concentrations will have been “enormously high”.

He said it would be “guaranteed mesothelioma”, referring to a common cancer asbestos particles cause in the lining of the lungs or abdomen.

“You’ve got smashed asbestos pieces on the ground, in the air from the explosion, and people are walking through it and kicking it up all the time, so it’ll never come back to a safe environment until it’s all cleared away,” Willey said.

Grim lesson from 9/11

After the terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001, Willey predicted that more people would eventually die from asbestos-related diseases than in the physical collapse of the towers, which killed 2,977 people, excluding the attackers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 400,000 people in Manhattan may have been exposed to toxic dust on that day.

As of 2022, more than 26,000 people had developed forms of cancer potentially tied to that event, according to advocacy group Mesothelioma.com.

Also as of then, an additional 5,380 people have died, many from diseases caused by exposure to toxins at Ground Zero, the group says.

Willey called it a “death sentence”, adding: “That’s going to be the same for the people in Gaza.”