Gaza Burn Victims Get 3D-printer Face Masks



Palestinians work at the scene where a fire broke out in a market in the central Gaza Strip March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Palestinians work at the scene where a fire broke out in a market in the central Gaza Strip March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Gaza Burn Victims Get 3D-printer Face Masks



Palestinians work at the scene where a fire broke out in a market in the central Gaza Strip March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Palestinians work at the scene where a fire broke out in a market in the central Gaza Strip March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Ahmed Al-Natour was working at his Gaza market shoe stall when a fire started in a nearby bakery and swept through a crowd of shoppers last March.

Twenty-five people were killed and Natour, 34, suffered severe burns to his face and other parts of his body. Back home after months in hospital, he is venturing out wearing a therapeutic mask now being made locally for the first time.

Using a 3D scanner in its clinic and a 3D printer owned by a Gaza business, Medecins Sans Frontieres-France provides compressive masks for Gaza facial burn victims to help them heal and prepare some for reconstructive surgery.

The transparent masks are made of solid plastic materials imported from France that help soften tissues and prevent complications such as scarring.

"I feel comfortable when I wear it, and it relaxes the face. It is easy to use, and I go shopping while wearing it," Reuters quoted Natour as saying, as he wore the mask fastened with elastic straps.

In the past, 3D masks were available for burn patients in Gaza only when they travelled to Jordan for reconstructive surgery.

Coronavirus travel restrictions have made such journeys difficult, with only two Gaza patients able to make the trip in 2020 compared with 25 in 2019.

Abed El-Hamid Qaradaya, MSF-France's physiotherapy activity manager in Gaza, said at one of the organization’s clinics that the masks had made a major difference for some patients.

"We have made face masks for 23 patients since the middle of 2020, and they helped to transform their lives," he said.



Hundreds Evacuated as Greece Wildfire Rages on Crete

Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
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Hundreds Evacuated as Greece Wildfire Rages on Crete

Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis
Firefighters stand next to rising flames as a wildfire burns near Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis

A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of locals and tourists, officials said on Thursday.

Greece is sweltering in a heatwave that is searing much of southern Europe, said AFP.

The country has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to summer wildfires, which are fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

Local media said around 1,500 people had to be evacuated because of the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday evening.

"Evacuations took place in numerous hotels and tourists were safely transferred to a closed gymnasium in the municipality of Ierapetra," vice-prefect Yannis Androulakis told TV channel Mega, referring to the holiday town in the southeast.

He said the authorities acted because water bomber planes could not reach the affected areas overnight.

"At the moment, there are three active fronts," Androulakis said. "Because of the strong winds, the fire has progressed quite rapidly."

Around 270 firefighters, 10 helicopters and drones have been deployed to tackle the blaze, said Vassilios Vathrakoyannis, a spokesman for the fire service.

They include reinforcements sent in from the capital, Athens.

"There are still a number of different fronts. The fire is burning scrubland and crops," he said.

"The winds are very strong -- up to nine on the Beaufort scale."

- Uneven, arid terrain -

Crete, Greece's largest island, has an arid, uneven landscape criss-crossed by gullies, making it difficult for firefighters to tackle the blaze.

The fire has damaged both houses and crops in fruit and vegetable greenhouses, local media said.

Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra –- a seaside resort with a population of 23,000 -- takes in thousands of tourists in the summer.

Vathrakoyannis said the authorities would assess the extent of the damage once the fire had been brought under control.

He stressed the risk of fires was "considerable" in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece.

Until now, Greece had been more or less spared the heatwave that has gripped other parts of southern Europe.

The country recorded its hottest ever summer last year when 45,000 hectares were torched, according to WWF Greece and the Athens National Observatory.

In terms of surface area destroyed, 2023 was the worst on record.

Nearly 175,000 hectares were obliterated and 20 people died during a series of prolonged heatwaves when temperatures rose in places to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).