Professor Nick Maynard, consultant surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals and one of the UK's most experienced medical volunteers in Gaza, delivers a stark and deeply personal account of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the territory.

Drawing on multiple medical missions to Gaza, Maynard combines frontline observations with data from international organisations, medical journals and humanitarian agencies to illustrate the scale of civilian suffering, the collapse of healthcare infrastructure and the challenges facing Gaza's future recovery.

In this presentation, Professor Maynard discusses:

The human cost of the war in Gaza, including civilian casualties, child deaths, injuries and displacement.
The impact of mass casualty events on Gaza's hospitals and medical staff.
First-hand experiences treating patients suffering severe blast injuries and trauma.
The destruction of healthcare facilities and the targeting of hospitals and medical personnel.
The detention, treatment and deaths of healthcare workers during the conflict.
Medical evidence relating to patterns of injuries seen among civilians.
The effects of malnutrition, starvation and restrictions on humanitarian supplies.
The challenges of medical evacuation, rehabilitation and long-term healthcare recovery.
The response of governments, institutions and the international medical community to the crisis.

Alongside statistics and analysis, Maynard shares the stories of individual patients, colleagues and families he encountered while working in Gaza, highlighting both the devastating human consequences of the conflict and the resilience of Palestinian healthcare workers operating under extraordinary conditions.

The presentation concludes with reflections on the urgent humanitarian needs facing Gaza, the scale of reconstruction required and the determination of medical professionals who continue to provide care despite immense personal risk.

This recording was made at the Britain Palestine Project annual conference, Recognition is the Beginning, held at the Greenwood Theatre, London, on 2 June 2026.

Professor Nick Maynard is a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Professor of Surgery at the University of Oxford. He has undertaken multiple humanitarian medical missions to Gaza and is a prominent advocate for the protection of healthcare workers, patients and medical facilities in conflict zones. Through his clinical work and public advocacy, he has become one of the most prominent British medical voices documenting the humanitarian consequences of the war in Gaza.