Israel’s unrelenting bombardment of Gaza has unleashed yet another lethal, but silent opponent on the people there: asbestos. Asbestos, a material that provides no risk to people when undisturbed but is highly carcinogenic when scattered and discharged into the atmosphere, is found in many of Gaza’s structures.
Over the past year, Israel’s bombs have caused vast amounts of it to be broken into tiny, airborne particles, which can potentially cause cancer in those who breathe it in, leading experts to say cases of cancer will likely be reported “for decades” in Gaza
According to United Nations estimates, some 800,000 tonnes of the bombed-out debris across Gaza may be contaminated with asbestos.This is a “death sentence” for Palestinians trapped in Gaza, leading asbestos expert Roger Willey told Al Jazeera.
‘A tragedy will unfold in the years ahead.’ According to Willey, the asbestos exposure of persons caught in the aftermath of each of Israel’s bombing attacks is comparable to that of the World Trade Center collapse in New York City on September 11, 2001.
Years later, it became clear that the dust clouds contained dangerous compounds, including asbestos. “I made a prediction then [in 2001] that more people would die from the asbestos-related diseases than were killed in the September 11 attacks,” according to Willey.