Palestinians are trying to rebuild their homes amid the devastation of the Gaza war [Getty]
Two teenage sisters from Gaza have been awarded an environmental prize for developing a technique to manufacture bricks from the millions of tons of rubble strewn across the territory.
15-year-old Farah and 17-year-old Tala Mousa have been named as the Middle East regional winners of the Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental competition for young people.
The two sisters were displaced multiple times during Israel’s two-year assault and now live in a tent after their house was destroyed in the bombing.
“After our entire city turned into rubble, everything around us pushed us to think about a solution,” 17-year-old Tala told the BBC.
Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza has displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2.2 million population – many multiple times – and reduced swathes of the territory to rubble.
Entire cities and towns have been razed to the ground by Israeli forces, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to live in displacement camps.
The UN estimated last year that reconstruction could cost as much as $70 billion.
The sisters will use the $12,500 (£9,245) prize money to train around 100 young people to create the bricks and “participate in reconstruction themselves, instead of waiting only for outside help,” Farah said.
The girls created the blocks using materials close to their tent. They are made by mixing crushed rubble with materials such as ash, clay and glass powder.
The Earth Prize is awarded by The Earth Foundation, a Geneva-based NGO. It has awarded prizes to students aged 13-19 since 2022.
It has named its regional winners for Europe and Africa and will announce the remaining four regions in the coming days. The overall winner will be determined in a public vote.
