Palestinian-Led Team Produces First Fully Local External Fixator in Gaza Using Recycled Plastics, 3D Printing, and Solar Power
Press Conference Footage/Photos
Media Contact: info@glia.org
Gaza Strip, Palestine / London, Ontario, Canada — In a landmark achievement for medical innovation under siege, the medical solidarity organization Glia has developed and clinically deployed the first external fixator ever manufactured entirely inside the Gaza Strip. Created from recycled plastics, locally sourced materials, and 3D-printed components powered entirely by solar energy, the device has already prevented amputation or permanent disability in three patients amid the near-total collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system.
As more than 90% of Gaza’s health facilities have been damaged or destroyed and medical imports remain blocked under Israel’s ongoing siege, conventional external fixators — typically costing more than $500USD and reliant on global supply chains — are entirely unavailable. With no external fixators currently accessible in Gaza, Glia’s locally fabricated device represents a critical lifeline born from necessity and a commitment to Palestinian medical sovereignty.
“This significantly strengthens the capacity of a healthcare system under siege,” notes Dr. Fadl Naim, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and acting director general of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Palestine. “Our experience shows that local medical innovation supported by international scientific cooperation can save lives, even in the most challenging conditions. This simple device has restored our ability to manage complex limb fractures with safety, dignity, and efficiency at a time when almost all conventional medical resources are unavailable.”
This breakthrough builds on decades of expertise among Palestinian clinicians and engineers operating under blockade and occupation, as well as on collaborative research conducted with partners including Imperial College London. Previous design and testing of 3D-printed components laid the technical foundation that enabled Gaza-based teams to rapidly prototype, adapt, and refine the device under the current crisis.
Plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah emphasizes the necessity for local production: “This is a project that we had been struggling to start two years before the war. Gaza, as a result of continuous Israeli attacks, consumes more external fixators than it is possible, economically or physically through the siege, to bring in. There was a clear need to manufacture the non-implantable parts of the external fixator locally.”
The fixator is manufactured entirely from locally sourced materials, with recycled plastics processed within Gaza forming the device’s structural components. To overcome the Strip’s total electrical blackout, production relies on solar-powered 3D printing, enabling continuous manufacturing despite the collapse of conventional infrastructure. Its open-source design, freely published by Glia, allows replication and adaptation by medical teams in other low-resource or crisis settings.
Since August 2025, three patients in Gaza have already received the fixator, each recovering with restored limb function and avoiding amputation. Twelve additional patients are currently awaiting treatment, demonstrating both the urgent need for these devices and the life-saving impact of local production under siege.
“It’s completely game-changing for surgeons and their patients to have a locally manufactured option that Glia is able to offer with these ex-fix clamps,” remarks orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Dierdre Nunan. “They can be produced from scavenged plastic that’s then recycled, and using solar power can then be turned into something that can be used in Gaza.”
Locally manufactured external fixators can be produced within hours, a critical advantage when infection risks escalate rapidly following severe fractures. This speed can mean the difference between amputation and full recovery for patients in Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals.
The project also reinforces Palestinian medical sovereignty, giving clinicians the ability to design, adapt, and build tools tailored to their own clinical realities, rather than relying on blocked imports or distant suppliers.
Beyond Gaza, this work has global significance, demonstrating that decentralized, context-driven medical technology can succeed in extreme conditions and offering a model for other conflict zones, disaster-affected regions, and climate-vulnerable communities worldwide.
A New Paradigm for Medical Technology
Glia stresses that this is not a story of aid delivered to passive recipients. Rather, it represents a model of open, distributed medical manufacturing in which Palestinian clinicians assert their expertise as innovators shaping the very tools they use.
“This work shows that meaningful medical innovation does not need to originate in centralized, resource-rich environments,” said Dr. Dorotea Gucciardo, Glia’s Director of Development. “It can be produced anywhere practitioners have the authority, confidence, and collaboration to design for their own contexts.”
The initiative demonstrates that innovation in Gaza is not simply a technical accomplishment; it is an act of solidarity in production, driven entirely by those living and working under blockade. Engineers, doctors, nurses, and community members have shaped every step of the project to meet their own medical needs in the face of impossible scarcity.
Support the Work
To support continued production and clinical deployment of these external fixators in Gaza, donations can be made at: LaunchGood.com/Glia4Gaza