Did Israel use depleted uranium in the weapons it used to attack Lebanon?

There are growing concerns in Lebanon that Israel uses shells containing internationally banned depleted uranium, due to its serious health and environmental repercussions, especially when targeting the densely populated southern suburb of the capital Beirut.

On Sunday, the Lebanese Chemists Syndicate said in a statement that the extent of the destruction and the penetration of buildings and land for dozens of meters (in the assassinations) confirms that Israel used bombs containing depleted uranium, which has tremendous penetrating power.

The most prominent cause of these anti-fortification bombs is the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on September 27, in addition to talk since Friday about the assassination of the most prominent candidate to succeed him, Hashem Safieddine, who was announced to have been out of contact since an Israeli raid targeted him in the southern suburb.

What is depleted uranium?

Lebanese parliamentarian Professor Najat Saliba, who specializes in air quality studies, told Anadolu Agency that "depleted uranium is from uranium enrichment deposits, not the original nuclear material."

She added that "depleted uranium is extracted from uranium enrichment deposits, and its radiation is usually half as intense, and the radioactive material that emits it is called alpha."

"Depleted uranium is used in shells because it is a very heavy metal... heavier than lead and has a great penetrating power, and when it explodes it causes clouds saturated with uranium oxide, which can spread in the human body through breathing," according to Saliba.

Health risks

According to Saliba, "this material (enriched uranium) does not penetrate the human body, but inhaling it leads to health damage to all organs of the human body, especially the liver (..) and its deposition also seriously affects the soil and water."

As for the precautions that should be taken by the population, Saliba said that "a mask should be worn in areas that are exposed to bombing and their surroundings, and the skin should be covered and not exposed to contaminated dust."

She pointed out that "these bombs were used in the Gulf War (without specifying which war) and the Yugoslav War, and recently the United States and Britain supplied Ukraine with these bombs to be used to penetrate Russian tanks, according to several press reports."

Saliba said that "confirming the use of these bombs in the bombing of Lebanon requires local measurements, whether by collecting a sample of dust and studying it in the laboratory or measuring it through a machine dedicated to monitoring radioactive materials."

Lebanese Chemists: "A very important warning"

According to the Syndicate of Chemists in Lebanon, in a statement on Sunday, Israel has indeed used bombs containing depleted uranium in its raids on Lebanon.

The organization added that "the use of these types of internationally banned weapons, especially in the densely populated capital Beirut, leads to massive destruction, and their dust causes many diseases, especially when inhaled."

The Organization of Chemists called on the international community to "stop the aggression against Lebanon, and stop the use of internationally banned bombs."

Since September 23, Israel has expanded the scope of the genocide it has been committing in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to include Lebanon and the capital Beirut, with unprecedentedly intense and bloody airstrikes, and a ground incursion that it began in the south, ignoring international warnings and UN resolutions.

According to official figures, Israel has killed 2,044 people and injured 9,678 since the start of the exchange of fire with Hezbollah on October 8, 2023, including 1,212 dead and 3,427 wounded, including a large number of children and women, and more than 1.2 million displaced, since Tel Aviv began its war on Lebanon on September 23 until Sunday evening.

Hezbollah responds daily by launching missiles, drones and artillery shells targeting military sites across Israel, and while Tel Aviv announces some of its human and material losses, Israeli military censorship strictly conceals most of the losses, according to observers.

Israel has occupied Arab lands in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine for decades, and rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders before the 1967 war with East Jerusalem as its capital.