BBC removes Gaza documentary from iPlayer to carry out ‘further due diligence’
Further accusations were made about other children in the documentary, such as claims that they were pictured with the militant group Hamas.
The BBC has decided to take down a controversial documentary about Gaza from BBC iPlayer while the broadcaster carries out “further due diligence with the production company”.
Earlier this week, the corporation apologised after it emerged that the film’s child narrator is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
Following the discovery about Abdullah Al-Yazouri, who speaks about what life is like in the territory amid the war between Israel and Hamas, the BBC later added a disclaimer to the programme.
Further accusations have been made about Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, which was initially broadcast on Monday at 9pm on BBC Two, such as claims that other children were pictured with the militant group Hamas.
On its clarifications and corrections page, the BBC said: “Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone features important stories we think should be told – those of the experiences of children in Gaza.
“There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”
London-based Hoyo Films made the film after working with the BBC on the documentary Ukraine: Enemy In The Woods.
Since October 2023, when Hamas attacked festivalgoers and Israeli settlers, more than 48,000 Palestinians have died, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The militant group is currently releasing hostages to Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has criticised concerns raised about the Hoyo Films documentary, and urged the BBC to “stand firm against these attempts to prevent first-hand accounts of life in Gaza from reaching audiences”.
A statement from the Harrow-based organisation also said: “For some, almost any Palestinian perspective appears to be deemed unacceptable.
“In this case, objections have been raised because Abdullah’s father holds a government role in Gaza’s Hamas-run administration. However, this does not negate the child’s lived experience or invalidate his testimony.”
On Wednesday, a letter from Friday Night Dinner and EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, Strike producer Neil Blair, former BBC One controller Danny Cohen and producer Leo Pearlman called for the BBC to pull the documentary.
Mr Cohen said on Friday it is “a shocking failure by the BBC and a major crisis for its reputation”, and claimed that a featured girl and a boy – who has carried wounded civilians in the documentary – have links to Hamas.
He also said: “The BBC’s senior leadership needs to wake up now and admit the corporation has a serious problem.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on Thursday she would be “discussing” the documentary with the BBC.
“These things are difficult and I do want to acknowledge that for the BBC, they take more care than most broadcasters in terms of the way that they try to portray these things,” she told LBC.
“We’re also discussing the training and work that they’re doing internally for their own staff around not just antisemitism, but the issues around Israel and Gaza and the way in which they treat those internally for staff.”
