Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which we create and meet, the Gadigal of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

How 3D masks are helping to heal facial burns in Gaza

Fitting Salam's mask

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza that was announced on 10 October 2025, has not stopped regular attacks by Israeli forces across the Strip, leading to severe burn injuries for a large number of people.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams continue to treat an alarming number of patients with severe facial burns at our clinic in Gaza City. Among the most vulnerable are children, who currently make up 85 per cent of patients at the clinic.

To prevent permanent disfigurement and disability, patients require specialised pressure therapy masks. These masks apply consistent pressure to heal burns, preventing hypertrophic scarring and contractures that can impair breathing, movement, and facial function.

MSF has been the only provider of 3D-printed physiotherapy masks in Gaza since 2020, but since Israeli authorities revoked MSF’s registration to work in Palestine on 3 December 2025 - along with that of 37 other NGOs - we've been unable to get new supplies into Gaza.

Only two functioning 3D scanners remain in the entire Strip, and spare parts for printers are also being blocked. Now we are running out of filament, a material needed to create each customised mask. We urge all relevant authorities to take immediate action to allow the delivery of essential medical supplies, equipment, and spare parts into Gaza.

Physiotherapist fits a mask on a 4-year-old child.
MSF physiotherapist Ibtihal Alwali fits a 3D mask on Joud, a four-year-old burn patient, at the 3D physiotherapy workshop in MSF's clinic in Gaza City. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Scanning a child's face.
Using specialised software, physiotherapists scan four-year-old Mohammed’s face to create a customised mask. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Physiotherapist smooths the edges of a custom-made 3D mask
Ahmed Alqssass, an MSF physiotherapist, smooths the edges of a custom-made 3D mask at MSF’s 3D physiotherapy workshop in Gaza City to ensure a comfortable fit for burn patients. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Physiotherapist shows Joud how the 3D scanner works
At MSF’s clinic in Gaza City, Ibtihial Alwali, an MSF physiotherapist shows four-year-old Joud how the 3D scanner works, gently explaining the process to help him feel at ease during the scan. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Spiderman mask
An old 3D-printed mask painted with a Spider-Man motif rests on a shelf in MSF’s 3D physiotherapy department in Gaza City. Ongoing restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities are preventing essential supplies from entering the Strip, including colored paints and the filament required to make these masks. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Child playing
At MSF’s clinic in Gaza City, Mohammed Qatrawi, MSF’s physiotherapy manager, plays with Joud, who sustained severe burns in July 2024 when the school sheltering his family was struck in an Israeli attack that also killed his mother. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Mother and daughter
Khadija, 34, holds her her two-year-old daughter, Salam at MSF’s clinic in Gaza City. Salam wears a custom 3D-printed mask to treat severe facial burns she sustained a year ago, when a nearby Israeli airstrike shook the tent where her displaced family was living and a cooking pan spilled onto her face. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Casts of patients’ faces
Gypsum casts of patients’ faces are stored on shelves in the 3D physiotherapy department at MSF’s clinic in Gaza City. These casts are used to produce custom-made 3D masks for patients with facial burns. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Cleaning a mask
At MSF’s clinic in Gaza City, MSF physiotherapist Ibtihal Alwali disinfects and cleans a custom 3D-printed mask before fitting it to a burn patient’s face. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF
Moulding a mask
At MSF’s 3D physiotherapy workshop in Gaza, a plastic sheet is heated and manually moulded over a patient’s gypsum facial cast to create a custom-made pressure mask. © Nour Alsaqqa/MSF

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