The Islamic University-owned Kahil building early Tuesday morning, destroying a library and a number of offices, including those of Tashkeel3D, a key manufacturer of 3D-printed medical equipment. Tashkeel3D is the original Gaza affiliate of the Canada-based Glia Project. An organization founded by ER doctor Tarek Loubani which works with regional partners to develop and produce low-cost and open-source 3D-printed medical equipment. Loubani-who was shot by Israeli forces while treating injured Palestinians in 2018-told Motherboard that those tourniquets saved the lives of “Countless Palestnians,” with the ongoing blockade making it difficult to import medical equipment from abroad. Loubani said the facility’s destruction now comes at a critical time, and hampers the ability to locally manufacture medical supplies in anticipation of continued fighting. According to Loubani, the first 3D printer in Gaza was built in Tashkeel3D’s offices. Loubani said that he and Abu Matar anticipated that something like this could happen and decided to split the organization’s Gaza-based 3D printing capacity in two, meaning that Glia can at least continue to produce medical equipment, albeit far less. “Ultimately with this situation we have an emergency response that needs to happen, how are we going to make enough medical equipment to meet the needs of Palestinians? We’re going to have to rebuild.”
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