Medical care · Khan Younis, Gaza City and Deir al-Balah
Burn care beyond the operating room
Burn treatment combines surgery and wound care with repeat visits, rehabilitation and support for patients and their families.
· Retrospective
Surgery and wound care
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described its burn-care work in Gaza in April 2025, including surgery at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and treatment at its Gaza City clinic and Deir al-Balah field hospital. At Nasser, teams had performed more than 1,000 operations for burn patients since May 2024. Many patients were children injured in explosions or accidents involving cooking and heating in makeshift shelters.
A serious burn can involve repeated procedures, regular wound dressing, pain management, physiotherapy and psychological support. These services address different parts of recovery: treating damaged tissue, maintaining movement and supporting someone living through a painful and frightening experience. Completing an operation is one stage in a much longer course of care.
Follow-up and scar management
An earlier MSF account from Gaza, published in February 2022, explains the continuing work behind that approach. Physiotherapists assessed scars and used pressure garments to help manage scar tissue. For a young child, reassessment mattered as the body grew: a scar that did not restrict movement at one appointment could require attention later.
That account also described providing transport to clinic appointments when fares kept families from attending. Wound care, physiotherapy and psychosocial support were offered alongside one another, including support for relatives. This earlier experience helps explain why burn services need both specialist skills and a practical route back to the clinic. Treatment has to remain reachable over months, not just at the moment of injury.
Recovery needs reliable access
By April 2025, the conditions for sustained treatment had deteriorated sharply. MSF reported dwindling pain-relief supplies, inadequate nutrition and major difficulty reaching follow-up care. Nearly half of the patients described in its burn-dressing caseload had not returned for follow-up.
Dressings must be replenished, appointments must remain accessible and rehabilitation must continue as patients’ needs change. A functioning service also depends on conditions outside the treatment room, including food, clean water and a safe place to recover.