Gaza sisters win prize for turning rubble into reusable bricks

Two teenage sisters from Gaza person won an biology grant for turning rubble into reusable bricks, saying they wanted to "turn demolition into thing useful".

Farah and Tala Mousa, who unrecorded successful a structure and person been repeatedly displaced since their location was bombed, person been named the Middle East determination winners of the youth-focused Earth Prize.

"After our full metropolis turned into rubble, everything astir america pushed america to deliberation astir a solution," 17-year-old Tala told the BBC.

The sisters program to usage their $12,500 (£9,245) prize to thatch others to nutrient the bricks and "participate successful reconstruction themselves, alternatively of waiting lone for extracurricular help," 15-year-old Farah said.

The UN estimates 1.9 cardinal radical successful Gaza - astir 90% of the colonisation - person been displaced since warfare began successful 2023, triggered by the Hamas-led onslaught connected confederate Israel connected 7 October. Israel responded by launching a subject run against Hamas successful the territory.

Farah and Tala developed the blocks not acold from a structure successful which they were surviving aft their location was destroyed successful August.

Made done crushing the rubble and sieving the debris earlier mixing it with materials similar clay, ash and solid powder, the girls tested the blocks by helping a neighbour clasp down their structure successful mediocre weather.

Low-cost and lightweight, they are designed for "non-load-bearing use, specified arsenic pavements, partitions and plot beds," Farah told the BBC World Service's Newsday.

The sisters - who mislaid their prototype erstwhile they were past displaced - said they had been motivated by the "destruction" astir them.

"Even the presumption from our structure model became the main motivation," said Tala.

"We transferred thing antagonistic into thing affirmative by refusing to spot rubble lone arsenic a awesome of demolition and loss."

She added: "Instead of seeing it arsenic the end, we tried to spot it arsenic the opening of thing new."

They program to usage the prize wealth to clasp workshops to bid immoderate 100 young radical to make the bricks themselves - aiming to nutrient astatine slightest 200 of them.

The Earth Prize - awarded for solutions to biology challenges - has already named its determination winners for Europe and Africa.

An 18-year-old successful Ireland won for creating a biodegradable integrative that breaks down safely, and 2 17-year-olds successful Kenya received the grant for processing a low-cost conveyance exhaust strategy that captures emissions utilizing filters made from earthy ingredients.

The warfare successful Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led onslaught successful October 2023, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

During Israel's subject run successful Gaza since then, much than 72,700 radical person been killed, including 856 since a ceasefire came into unit successful October 2025, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

The ceasefire, portion of US President Donald Trump's program to extremity the war, besides pledged the territory's reconstruction "for the payment of the radical of Gaza". Humanitarian agencies person said specified large-scale enactment has not yet begun.