Derry applauds eminent surgeon’s witness account of ‘forced starvation’ in Gaza

It was standing room only in Derry’s Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin then a standing ovation for Professor Nick Maynard’s following his presentation ‘Gaza a War on Healthcare’.

Organised by Trócaire, Professor Maynard’s heart-wrenching account of what he has witnessed in Gaza was the opening event of Féile 2025.

A Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals, Professor Maynard has worked in Gaza since 2010, alongside colleagues in Medical Aid for Palestinians, providing care and training Palestinian surgeons and medical students.

He returned to England just 12 days ago after a harrowing four weeks on the ground in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

"We are witnessing a genocide. We are witnessing multiple war crimes. We are witnessing ethnic cleansing. The world needs to know."

WATCH: @DerryNow interview with surgeon Professor @maynard_nick at @trocaire's Gaza - A War on Healthcare event, in @culturlanndoire on Tuesday… pic.twitter.com/46sb0n5JmS

— Catherine McGinty (@CathMcGin_Tea) August 6, 2025

Speaking to The Derry News, Professor Maynard said the town had been destroyed and is now all in the ‘red zones’ occupied by the Israeli military.

“The relentless bombing, the explosive injuries are about the same as it has always been,” he added, “but the malnutrition has gotten much, much worse, since I was there last year. 

“I have seen the devastating impact of malnutrition, although malnutrition doesn’t do it justice. It is the devastating impact of a forced starvation, of a deliberate starvation of the whole nation by Israel.

“I have seen newborn babies die. I have seen infants die. I have seen children die. I have seen adults die of malnutrition. That was much, much worse and terribly distressing to watch.

“The other big change was the volume of severe injuries from gunshot wounds, which I didn’t see much of previously. I saw some gunshot wounds but this time we saw terrible gunshot wounds, predominantly in young, male teenagers, who were being shot deliberately, by Israeli soldiers, at Gazan Humanitarian Foundation sites, the American - Israeli which has taken over the distribution of food. They are designed as deathtraps and the Israeli soldiers were shooting many young boys at those.

"Trócaire: Gaza Hospitals - An Eyewitness Account" - Dr. Nick Maynard, who gave an eyewitness account of his experiences of volunteering his life-saving skills in Gazan hospitals, working with the brave Palestinian medical staff, held in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin on Tuesday night as part of Féile Derry. Included on left is Peter Heaney, Trócaire, and on right Gareth Stewart, Féile Derry. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

“I saw lots of the victims. I operated on lots of them but all the families and indeed a lot of my colleagues, Gazan healthcare workers, went to these food sites to get food for themselves and they all had the same description of Israeli soldiers shooting at the boys, killing many of them. The worst day we had, I think there were 30 boys brought in dead and 50 brought in seriously injured,” said Professor Maynard.

He added: “Even worse than that, it was almost like a game of target practice because there would be a clustering of body part injuries on any particular day.

“One day they would all be shot in the head. The next day they would all be shot in the neck. The next day the chest. The next day the abdomen. The next day the legs, the arms. One day even they all came in having been shot in the testicles. 

“So there was a very, very clear striking pattern, really clear pattern of clustering of injuries. Such a striking pattern it is inconceivable it was coincidence. It seemed to be a game of deliberate target practice,” said Professor Maynard, who described the desired Israeli endgame as “the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza, the eradication of all Palestinians from Gaza to allow the Israelis to settle in Gaza”.

A section of the audience at the "Trócaire: Gaza Hospitals - An Eyewitness Account" event. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

Professor Maynard said he wanted people to be aware of what was going on in Gaza.

“Journalists aren’t allowed in there so we are not getting it from journalists. We are certainly not being told by our politicians,” he added.

“Our politicians and media have been told what is going on. They have been told by me. They have been told by many, many other healthcare workers, in graphic detail, with photographs, what’s going on but they are choosing not to report it properly. 

“I want to make people very aware of what is going on. I want to make it clear to people that there is a genocide being carried out in Gaza as we speak. There are multiple war crimes being committed every single day. 

“There is ethnic cleansing being carried out and our government knows it, our media knows it and they are refusing to call it out. None of us have any idea why. Are they all compromised? Are the senior politicians in our country and the US compromised in some way? I have no idea. 

Professor Nick Maynard in Gaza

“We can all speculate but what there can be no doubt about is we are witnessing a genocide. We are witnessing ethnic cleansing. We are witnessing war crimes. I want to show people what is going on and just by listening to someone like me, you are doing something. Tell your friends. Signpost them to other interviews I have done, other healthcare workers have done. Dr Victoria Rose is a plastic surgeon who is out there and has done some magnificent interviews. Dr Graeme Groom has done some magnificent interviews,” said Professor Maynard, who also asked people to put pressure on their MPs. 

“This is absolutely unconscionable that our Government is allowing this to happen,” he added. “There is so much more our government could be doing”.

Professor Maynard said he was “terribly distressed leaving Gaza this time”. 

“There were a lot of tears when we left because we were saying goodbye to friends who we knew might be killed. Saying goodbye to patients. You feel guilt for leaving. You feel a desperation to get back and you feel intense anger as well,” he added. 

“There was one thing which was really distressing was knowing that little babies I saw die, died because there wasn’t enough formula feed in the hospital because the Israelis had not allowed it in. 

“American doctors I knew who came out after me, knowing there was such a profound shortage of formula feed, brought formula feed with them in their luggage and at the border with Gaza, the Israelis took every single container of formula feed out. 

“The babies have no formula feed and I saw them die. They died because there was no formula feed and there was no formula feed, not only because the Israelis have stopped everything coming in, they even went further, they even took out bottles of formula feed from doctors’ luggage. It is unspeakable evil and they need to be tried in The Hague,” said Professor Maynard.

Professor Maynard operating on a 14-year-old with a gunshot wound which caused a shattered kidney which had to be removed.

Introducing Professor Maynard in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Peter Heaney, Trócaire's Head of Region for Northern Ireland, said:  "Trócaire has supported Medical Aid for Palestinians since 2024 with life-saving support for people in the Gaza Strip. 

“This support has included essential medical supplies and crucial nutrition support for women and children. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), and Trócaire’s other partners in Gaza, have provided humanitarian aid in unimaginable circumstances for both their teams, and the population of Gaza, where access is constrained, safety is at risk and targeting of medical facilities is common."