Surgeon Accuses Israeli Soldiers of Targeting Specific Body Parts in Gaza Shootings

A surgeon who has worked in Gaza has accused Israeli soldiers of 'playing a game' when shooting people in Gaza, saying the pattern of gunshot injuries sustained was 'almost like the Israeli soldiers were having target practice'.

Consultant gastrointestinal surgeon Nick Maynard said there was a clear pattern of a clustering of gunshot injuries to specific parts of the body on different days.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Professor Maynard said he would not have believed the pattern to be possible if he had not witnessed it himself.

'One day we would see mainly gunshot wounds to the head and neck. Another day we would see gunshot wounds mainly to the abdomen or the chest.

Another day, the legs and even on one day, about 12 days ago, we saw four young teenage boys coming in, all of whom had been shot in the testicles,' he said.

Prof Maynard said said the clustering of injuries was so dramatic that it was 'inconceivable that it was coincidental'.

'It seemed to us as if it was almost like the Israeli soldiers we're having target practice, playing a game,' he said.

He added that it was as if soldiers were saying 'we're going to shoot for the head today, the abdomen tomorrow, the testicles, the day after that'.

Prof Maynard has been going to Gaza since 2023 and said his last visit was by far the worst he has experienced.

'This is my third visit since October 2023, and each time I go I think I'll be ready for it and prepared. But it's always much worse than I expected.

'This most recent trip was no exception. I saw terrible injuries, terrible mass casualties from exploded injuries from bombs, from gun shootings at the food distribution points and, of course, terrible malnutrition, leading to many deaths of adults.

'I operated on children, even newborns I saw who were dying of malnutrition, so it was worse than I had expected.'

Prof Maynard said it is very difficult to describe the extent of the malnutrition and how thin people in Gaza are.

'They're dying of this man-made starvation imposed upon them by the Israeli government.

'And I see people dying of malnutrition. My patients that I've operated on from major explosive or gunshot injuries, they're coming in very malnourished.'

He said the ability of patients to heal from injuries and surgeries is greatly impaired due to malnutrition adding that many internal repairs 'fall to pieces because they don’t heal'.

Prof Maynard said he has seen premature newborn babies dying of malnutrition.

'Four babies died at the beginning of my stay there. These were children who had no other illnesses other than being premature and malnourished.

'Their mothers couldn't breastfeed because they were so malnourished. There was no formula feed to give them.

'There'd be no formula feed for these infants that had been delivered to Gaza since the last ceasefire months ago.'

Prof Maynard said he knew doctors who had brought in cartons of formula that were confiscated by Israeli border guards.

'Every single carton of formula taken away from them. It's barbarism at its very worst.'

Prof Maynard's words came as Médecins Sans Frontières said that a quarter of all young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women screened at its clinics in Gaza last week were malnourished, blaming Israel's 'policy of starvation'.

The medical charity known by its French acronym MSF said that 'across screenings of children aged six months to five years old, and pregnant and breastfeeding women at MSF facilities last week, 25% were malnourished', warning that 'rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have tripled in the last two weeks alone'.

Prof Maynard paid tribute to his colleagues who are working in Gaza saying that they are mentally and physically exhausted and are starving as well.

'They are permanently hungry. People I've known for years sometimes. Doctors and nurses I know there, I barely recognised some of them having been there last summer, seeing the difference, some of them lost 20-30 kilograms of weight.'

Prof Maynard accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders of being complicit in what is happening in Gaza.

'We're seeing these strong words from David Lammy, our Foreign Secretary, from Keir Starmer, but they're words, that's all they are. And in my view, they're worthless. We need actions and we're not getting any actions.

'My government is still supplying arms to Israel, part of the F35 jets, they are still running daily reconnaissance flights from Cyprus over Gaza, giving information to the Israelis. They are still hosting senior members of the Israeli government and the military in the UK.

'They have failed to call out that there is indeed a genocide and multiple war crimes being carried out.'

According to the source: RTE.ie.