6-year-old Gaza burn victim caught in Israeli dispute over aid

Palestinian girl Masa Yassin, 6, undergoes treatment at a Doctors Without Borders clinic, where staff provide 3D facial pressure masks to help reduce burn scars, amid shortages of necessary medical supplies, in Gaza City, on Nov. 5 | REUTERS

Nov 14, 2026

CAIRO/GAZA – The excruciating burns run around the side of Masa Yassin’s tiny face, behind her ear, over her scalp and down her neck.

Since her family’s tent burst into flames when a nearby cooking gas tank exploded in July, part of the 6-year-old girl’s treatment has been a clear plastic 3D-printed mask, which helps manage swelling and control the scars on her face.

But soon she will outgrow it, and the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which operates the only clinic in Gaza that can make her a new one, says it has been barred by Israel from importing the plastic.

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