Surgeon Recounts Drone Attacks on Injured Children in Gaza

A former surgeon, who provided voluntary medical assistance at a Gaza hospital, informed Members of Parliament that Israeli drones reportedly targeted children who had been wounded and were lying on the ground following aerial attacks. Professor Nizam Mamode, a resident of Brockenhurst, Hampshire, served at Nasser hospital for a period of one month during August and September. While presenting his testimony to the parliamentary International Development Committee, he became visibly emotional when recounting children’s descriptions of being shot by quadcopters. Sarah Champion, a Labour MP and the committee’s chair, characterized his testimony as “profound and deeply chilling.” The 62-year-old surgeon conveyed to MPs: “What I found particularly disturbing was that a bomb would drop, maybe on a crowded, tented area and then the drones would come down.” His expression showed strong emotion as he paused for several seconds to regain his composure. He proceeded, stating: “The drones would come down and pick off civilians – children. “We [were] operating on children who would say: ‘I was lying on the ground after a bomb had dropped and this quadcopter came down and hovered over me and shot me.'” He added: “That’s clearly a deliberate act and it was a persistent act – persistent targeting of civilians day after day.” Professor Mamode, who previously served as the clinical lead of transplant surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, characterized these accounts as a “very consistent story.” He further stated: “The bullets that the drones fire are these small cuboid pellets and I fished a number of those out of the abdomen of small children. I think the youngest I operated on was a three-year-old.” He elaborated: “These pellets were in a way more destructive than bullets. “With the drone pellets, what I found was they would go in and they would bounce around so they would cause multiple injuries.” He provided an example: “I had a seven-year-old boy… He had an injury to his liver, spleen, bowel, arteries, so quite extensive destruction from a single entry point.” He concluded this example by saying: “He survived that and went out a week later.” Following Tuesday’s hearing, Ms Champion issued a statement asserting: “On this evidence, the UK needs to take seriously the prospect of international humanitarian law having been egregiously broken in Gaza.“The Committee will do all we can to act on Professor Mamode’s extraordinary testimony and ensure his experiences are heard loud and clear.” On 7 October last year, Hamas militants launched an assault on Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 251 individuals as hostages. This incursion marked the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, and as of November 2024, over 100 hostages are still missing. Subsequently, Israel initiated a military operation in Gaza, which, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, has led to the deaths of 43,712 people. The Israeli military maintains that it does not target civilians and has accused Hamas of utilizing the civilian population as human shields.