BBC accused of using child narrator with Hamas family ties in ‘propaganda’ documentary

The BBC has been accused of using a narrator with family ties to Hamas in its latest documentary on the war in Gaza.

Broadcast earlier this week, BBC Two’s Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, directed by Yousef Hammash and Jamie Roberts, follows the lives of four young people trying to survive the Israel-Hamas war in the Strip.

Investigative journalist David Collier has alleged that one of the main children in the film, Abdullah Al-Yazouri – the 13-year-old who doubles up as the documentary’s narrator – is related to a senior Hamas official.

Al-Yazouri was, according to Collier, previously featured in a Channel 4 documentary in 2023, where he appeared under the name Abdullah Abu Shamala alongside a man claiming to be his father.

But Collier has apparently identified the man as Khalil Abushammla, a former director of anti-Israel NGO Al-Dameer, which has issued reports accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and has alleged links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to NGO Monitor.

Al-Yazouri’s real father is alleged to be Khalil’s brother-in-law Ayman Al-Yazouri, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the Hamas government in Gaza.

The BBC omitted the narrator’s alleged familial ties to the terrorist group, leading Collier to claim that the documentary was a piece of “propaganda” and was “biased”.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) told the JC: “The BBC has repeatedly alleged that any under par reporting from the Gaza Strip throughout the past 16 months is the fault of Israel, due to restrictions on the entry of foreign journalists into an active war zone.

"It is of course worth remembering that Egypt has placed identical restrictions - usually not noted by the BBC - and that when the war broke out, the corporation did have an active Gaza bureau, staffed by local journalists, some of whom later chose to leave the territory. Throughout most of the past 16 months, the BBC has used local freelancers to produce reports from the Gaza Strip, usually without identifying them.

"The result of that policy has been incessant and uncritical amplification of propaganda supplied by Hamas ministries and agencies. The results of David Collier's research into the background to this BBC documentary will hence come as no surprise to those familiar with the corporation's record of reporting from the Gaza Strip since October 7 2023."

Likewise, former BBC governor Baroness Deech told the JC that she believes the broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war has been “shameful”.

“I watched the BBC programme on Gaza and wondered how it could be made impartially given that it was being recorded by people inside Gaza whose independence must surely depend on Hamas.

“There was no mention of the fate of the hostages, a peaceful coexisting future or any agreement with Israel; and, of course, focusing on charming and articulate children (which they were) is bound to affect the emotions rather than inviting scrutiny.

“The immediate plight of the Gazans is indeed awful but so is the long-term situation for hostages, Israel and its fighters, and there must be no equivalence.”

Baroness Deech added that she felt the BBC's complaints system is “inadequate” to deal with these issues, calling it “defensive and inexpert”. She said she has been a long supported bringing in an independent Ombudsman to investigate bias at the broadcaster.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, a documentary showing the conflict through the eyes of three children in Gaza, was produced in line with BBC editorial guidelines and the BBC had full editorial control. The film told the children’s own stories, showing viewers their direct experiences of living through a war, and the children’s parents did not have any editorial input.

“As the BBC has previously explained, the film was edited and directed from London, as independent international journalists are not allowed into Gaza. The film gives audiences a rare glimpse of Gaza during the war, as well as an insight into the children’s lives, it hears the voices of other Gazan civilians, several of whom voice anti-Hamas sentiments.”