A new documentary, Life Support, set to hit British cinemas on 10 July, is giving a voice to a group of UK and international doctors who have worked in Gaza. At its center is Professor Nick Maynard, a consultant surgeon from Oxford University Hospital who has made multiple trips to the besieged enclave since October 2023. His testimony, delivered to the independent outlet Declassified UK, presents a stark indictment of both Israeli military policy and the British government’s response.
The film, directed by Daniele Rugo, has been described by The Guardian as “quietly devastating” and “almost unbearable to watch.” Because Israel does not allow foreign reporters into Gaza unless under military escort, the medics featured in the documentary serve as valuable independent witnesses to the conflict.
‘They Are Lying’: Contesting the Official Narrative
Professor Maynard directly contradicted statements made by UK government lawyers in the High Court last year, who argued there was “no evidence that Israel was deliberately targeting civilian women or children” and that there was evidence of efforts to limit “incidental harm.”
“I don’t think they’re misinformed,” Maynard told Declassified. “I think they are lying when they say that. They have been presented with the evidence by me, by many other doctors. They know that is not the case.”
To substantiate this, Maynard and colleagues published findings in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last year. The paper analyzed the pattern of injuries sustained by Gazan civilians and documented the “profuse use of high-energy missiles designed to cause maximal tissue destruction.” The study described a pattern of “extreme high-energy trauma” that had “never been described in a civilian population” before and was previously only seen in combatant-vs-combatant conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Maynard provided eyewitness accounts of operating on “multiple children who have been deliberately shot at the food distribution points by the Israeli military.” He stated that this evidence, along with graphic photographs of children shot in the head or burned to death, was personally presented to senior UK officials.
Eyewitness Accounts from the Frontline
The film features other medical professionals whose testimonies echo Maynard’s findings. Canadian paediatric intensive care doctor Tanya Haj-Hassan, wiping away a tear, describes the relentless nature of the suffering: “Dying children and grieving parents are a fact of her work… But Gaza is that continuously.”
Reconstructive surgeon Victoria Rose, who had previously worked in Gaza, arrived on one mission with 23 suitcases of supplies after putting out a call to UK plastic surgeons. On a later visit, she was permitted to cross the border with just one. ER doctor James Smith, on his first night in Gaza, tried to count the number of explosions but lost track after several hundred.
All the doctors pay tribute to the extraordinary heroism of their Palestinian colleagues, who work marathon shifts while often grieving personal losses. Maynard describes a Palestinian surgeon taking sitting-down breaks during an operation to avoid blacking out from hunger. Another Palestinian doctor is shown bringing her teenage children to work, reasoning that if they die, they will die together.
‘Profoundly Disappointing’: Meetings with UK Ministers
Maynard detailed a series of fruitless meetings with British political figures. In December 2023, he and colleagues met then-Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron and International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell, bringing “large laminated color photos” of maimed children.
“I genuinely expected them to say, ‘My God, I had no idea it was like that’—and then take action,” Maynard recalled. “Their reaction was appalling. They did nothing.”
Subsequent meetings brought little change. Foreign Minister Hamish Falconer was “visibly affected” but admitted the government had “no leverage with Israel at all.” Health Secretary Wes Streeting was “shocked” and shared the evidence with cabinet colleagues.
However, Maynard expressed the most disappointment with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A planned face-to-face meeting was changed to Zoom at the last minute, and the doctors were “categorically” told they could not show any photographs. After a few minutes of testimony, Maynard said, “the reaction we got was nothing at all. We’ve asked for subsequent meetings [and] have been refused.”
‘Deliberate Starvation’ and the Targeting of Medical Infrastructure
Beyond direct violence, Maynard described the systematic dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system. Operating theaters lacked sterile drapes, surgical gloves were washed and reused, and at times there was no water for surgeons to scrub, forcing them to rely on alcohol jelly.
The most harrowing testimony concerned malnutrition. Maynard described a seven-month-old baby in the pediatric intensive care unit at Nasser Hospital who died of starvation simply because formula feed was unavailable. He noted that four days prior, American doctors had packed formula feed in their luggage, but “every single container of formula feed was deliberately removed by the Israeli soldiers at the border.”
“That to me is the clearest evidence possible of a deliberate forced starvation imposed on them by the Israelis,” he stated. He believes that “the destruction of the healthcare system is one of the absolute core policies of the Israeli government and military as part of their aim of ethnically cleansing Gaza.”
The documentary also highlights the targeting of medical infrastructure beyond general hospitals. It notes that Gaza’s only cancer hospital was destroyed and that an IVF clinic was obliterated, along with all its embryos. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide weapons—a charge the group denies—but the doctors in the film present their eyewitness accounts of systematic destruction of civilian medical facilities.
Complicity and the UN Genocide Finding
Maynard argued that Britain’s inaction amounts to participation. Despite stronger language from ministers, he noted that the UK “are still providing arms to the Israeli military” and that the RAF has been flying “reconnaissance flights from Cyprus over Gaza throughout the last 2½ years, providing military intelligence to the Israeli army.”
“I think many people would say that their silence, their inaction amounts to complicity,” he said.
These allegations are supported by a recent report from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, published in June 2026. The commission concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” through its policy of “deliberately targeting children.” The report stated that these attacks were not incidental but were a “core part” of establishing genocidal intent.
Despite this finding, the UK government continues to refuse to classify Israel’s actions as genocide. Maynard called this refusal “deeply disturbing,” suggesting it is driven by the government’s fear of being “found out to have failed in their obligations when an accusation of genocide has been made.”
A Call for Accountability
Professor Maynard criticized mainstream media—including the BBC—for what he sees as inadequate coverage of the crisis, specifically the UN’s genocide finding. He praised the independent film Life Support for capturing the “emotions” and “appalling things” he witnessed, noting that The Guardian described it as “hard to watch but impossible to look away from.”
“I’ve seen things I would never have imagined that I could ever see in my life,” he said. “I’ve seen almost daily evidence of war crimes. I’ve seen daily evidence of genocide.”
As the UK maintains diplomatic and military ties with Israel, Maynard’s testimony—corroborated by fellow medics, peer-reviewed medical research, and UN findings—raises urgent questions about the British government’s legal and moral responsibilities under international law. Life Support opens in UK cinemas on 10 July.
