A controversy has erupted in media circles over the BBC documentary "Gaza: How To Survive a War Zone." The film, which aimed to depict the lives of Palestinians during the ongoing conflict, has come under scrutiny after it was revealed that one of its primary interviewees, 13-year-old Abdullah al-Yazouri, is the son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture – a fact that apparently eluded the filmmakers.
The hour-long documentary, which aired on Monday, was promoted as offering insights into the experiences of three children in the Gaza Strip amidst the current war. However, within 48 hours of its premiere, the BBC channel responsible for the film issued an apology, stating that the production team was unaware of the problematic family connection.
"We followed all of our usual compliance procedures in the making of this film, but we had not been informed of this information by the independent producers when we complied and then broadcast the finished film," a BBC spokesperson stated. Former BBC One controller Danny Cohen criticized the corporation for failing to uphold proper ethical standard.
"The BBC appears to have given an hour of prime-time coverage to the son of a senior member of the Hamas terrorist group. Either they were not aware of the terrorist links because they did not carry out the most basic journalistic checks or the BBC did know and misled audiences about the family's deep involvement with terrorism," he wrote.
"On Tuesday, the BBC claimed they had 'full editorial control,'" Cohen added. "On Wednesday, they're blaming someone else, and the serious questions posed to the BBC remain unaddressed."
The documentary did not disclose the children's personal or family backgrounds to viewers, and it remains unclear whether the filming crew was cognizant of al-Yazouri's ties to Hamas.
In response to the revelation, the BBC has added a disclaimer to the documentary, acknowledging its connection to Hamas. However, the broadcaster maintains that the documentary production team retained "full editorial control."
"We've promised our audiences the highest standards of transparency, so it is only right that as a result of this new information, we add some more detail to the film before its retransmission. We apologize for the omission of that detail from the original film," it said. "We followed all of our usual compliance procedures in the making of this film, but we had not been informed of this information by the independent producers when we complied and then broadcast the finished film. The film remains a powerful child's eye view of the devastating consequences of the war in Gaza which we believe is an invaluable testament to their experiences, and we must meet our commitment to transparency."
Critics decry "platform for Hamas propaganda"
The group Labour Against Antisemitism lodged an official complaint about the film on Tuesday. The organization argued that the documentary treated 'This documentary appears to have been a failure of due diligence by the BBC, with Hamas propaganda promoted as reliable fact at the taxpayers' expense.
Detractors accused the BBC of allowing itself to become a propaganda vehicle for Hamas by featuring a child of one of its high-ranking officials.
Questions have also been raised about whether al-Yazouri's family connections should have been known to the documentary's production team, particularly the two Palestinian cameramen who filmed the three children.
One director and producer of "How to Survive a Warzone" was Jamie Roberts, whose portfolio includes "Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods" and "This is Gaza," which followed filmmaker Youssef Hammash, a Palestinian currently residing in Britain. Hammash was also a director of "How to Survive a Warzone"
The documentary, which was in production for nine months, also focuses on the experiences of 11-year-old Zakaria and 10-year-old Ranad. Al-Yazouri, who was a student at the British School in Gaza prior to the war, appeared in Arabic news broadcasts in November 2023, discussing the destruction caused by Israeli attacks. His father has previously been seen praising two Hamas "martyrs" who were allegedly involved in the killing of four Israelis in 2023.
Campaign Against Antisemitism lashed out at the BBC for its low-key response and its coverage of the hostage release on Thursday, when Hamas released dead Israeli captives, widely believed to include Shira Bibas and her two toddlers (the remains were still being forensically analyzed late Thursday).
"Days after allegations of our national broadcaster publishing Hamas propaganda emerge, it finally offers a flimsy apology in which it states it will air it again but will 'add some more detail to the film.'," CAM wrote. "Then today, it provides a stage for stomach-churning claims from the very same antisemitic genocidal group. How about pointing out that the hostages – including a baby and a four-year-old they kidnapped – would still be alive had they not been taken from their home by Hamas terrorists in the first place? Why does the BBC insist on treating Hamas as though it were some neutral party?"
