Dr. Mark Perlmutter, a hand and upper extremity orthopedic surgeon, is the president of the World Surgical Foundation, and the past president of the United States section of the International College of Surgeons. He has served in over 40 life-saving missions in the last 30 years, including the 9/11 attack in Manhattan, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. According to Dr. Perlmutter, none of his previous experiences prepared him for the gruesome carnage he witnessed in Gaza.

He was interviewed March 29, 2025 by Jose Vega at JFK Airport during a layover upon his return from Gaza, where he had been working at Nasser Hospital when it was bombed by the Israel Defense Forces.

Jose Vega: Mark, the world has wanted to know if you’re OK. We saw Al-Nasser hospital get bombed. You were there with Dr. Feroze [Sidhwa]. Now, you’re here on U.S. soil.

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: Yeah. I met you at Kennedy [Airport in NY]. I had to change my flight to get in a day earlier. I had some buffer time; just had trouble getting out, so I came in a day earlier, which wasn’t good. It was an uneventful flight; it was an eventful drive out. We spent a dozen hours inside of a UN armored vehicle, and we weren’t allowed out of it until we got through the West Bank. But aside from that obnoxious part of the trip—the vehicles are very encased on the inside because of the thickness of the armor plating. The ceilings are lower, the walls are tighter, so it’s just a horrible tuna can to ride in, in the heat. But, it’s nice to be back home.

I wish I was there, to tell the truth. The list of patients we had, we didn’t make promises we would operate on, but they were patients that were on our list. If there weren’t bombings, we would have accomplished that list and taken care of everybody on it. But when bombs fall, that changes your OR [operating room] schedule, especially when you’re up and operating all night long.

Vega: Mark, is there anything— You sent firsthand reports to an active U.S. Congressman about what’s actually happening there. There have been no Western journalists allowed in Gaza. You come bearing firsthand knowledge of what actually happened there. Is there anything you want to tell the American people who want to know what you experienced? I know you just got off the flight; I know this is your first time back on U.S. soil.

Perlmutter: I can make an appeal. I think most Americans who give a shit already know what’s going on; and those that don’t are finding comfort in their complacency. You just have to keep asking people to tell other people who may not realize what’s going on, to please be educated. The Israeli propaganda machine is perfectly effective. Most people in the United States just don’t know the difference between Judaism and Zionism, and that the political agenda is to advance Zionism; which has nothing to do with Judaism. Our government is focused only on protecting the rights of Israelis to take over the land that belongs to the Palestinians at any and all expense; even the lives of their children. That’s why I was there; I knew the population was mostly children, and I knew they can’t take a bomb as much as an adult can. Certainly they couldn’t take a sniper bullet as well.

The Israeli government is uncaring; they only want the land. This is nothing more than a land grab under pretext of protecting the Jewish religion, which is total bullshit.

Vega: All right, Mark. I won’t take [time for] more questions; I know you have to get another flight. Thank you, Mark.

Perlmutter: You bet.