BBC pulls Gaza film as it carries out checks over Hamas links

The BBC has removed a documentary about Gaza from its iPlayer streaming service while it carries out “further due diligence” after discovering its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

The broadcaster has been criticised for Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, which centred on the son of Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

The BBC said it had not been informed of the family connection in advance by the film’s production company.

The programme had initially remained available to stream, but was removed from iPlayer on Friday morning, with the BBC saying it would investigate the matter.

A statement 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 the 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.”

The decision comes after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on Thursday she would discuss the matter with the BBC’s director general and chairman, “particularly around the way in which they sourced the people who were featured in the programme”.

A number of prominent TV figures including actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, Strike producer Neil Blair, former BBC One controller Danny Cohen and producer Leo Pearlman, had also written to the BBC to call for an investigation.

They said: “Given the serious nature of these concerns, the BBC should immediately postpone any broadcast repeats of the programme, remove it from iPlayer and take down any social media clips of the programme until an independent investigation is carried out and its findings published with full transparency for licence-fee payers.”

The BBC initially kept the programme on iPlayer but added a message at the start reading: “The narrator of this film is 13-year-old Abdullah. His father has worked as a deputy agriculture minister for the Hamas-run government in Gaza.

“The production team had full editorial control of filming with Abdullah.”

Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, Israel and others.

A BBC statement on Wednesday said: “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.”

Cohen, who was the BBC’s director of television from 2013-15 after being BBC One controller, said the film was a major crisis for the BBC’s reputation, adding: “The BBC’s commitment to impartiality on the Israel-Hamas war lies in tatters.”

The documentary, which aired on BBC Two on Monday, was made by Hoyo Films, which has not commented.