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BBC has 'serious questions to answer' over claims Gaza documentary features Hamas leader's son, says Jon Sopel
19 February 2025, 14:44 | Updated: 19 February 2025, 14:56
The BBC has "serious questions to answer" after it was accused of "blindly spouting propaganda" following the release of a documentary allegedly featuring the son of a Hamas leader.
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Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was broadcast on Monday evening, depicting a "vivid and unflinching view of life" in Gaza, according to documentary makers.
The raw and often graphic documentary featured multiple accounts of the conflict, with the hour-long film showing the devastation of Gaza through the eyes of three young Palestinian children in the region.
Now, Independent investigative journalist David Collier has claimed that one of the child narrators featured in the documentary, 14-year-old Abdullah, is in fact the son of a Hamas government minister and grandson of one of Hamas' founders.
Speaking to LBC on Wednesday, The News Agents host Jon Sopel said the cooperation has "serious questions to answer" as he called for a "health warning" to be slapped on the doc.
Why is the BBC being accused of making a 'Hamas propaganda film'? Jon Sopel explains
He said: “News organisations are not allowed into Gaza, so it has been a nightmare for journalists to get stories out there.
“So they found these kids, full editorial control, producers based in London, with local camera crews.
“But the claim is … the son of Hamas deputy minister of agriculture was one of the kids featured in the documentary and the question is, did the BBC know this and if not why didn’t they?
“So the BBC is facing allegations of just being a Hamas mouthpiece.
“I spoke to someone very senior at BBC News and he said ‘It’s current affairs, mate.’
“There is BBC News and a whole different department that might as well be another planet called current affairs."
He added: "Of course, the producers were hamstrung by the fact they didn’t have access to Gaza, but apparently, the person who found out about the Hamas link was someone who just googled it.
"If the producers haven’t done that, they have some pretty serious questions to answer."
The BBC has since defended the film, admitting the organisation had "full editorial control" despite stating it had no journalistic input given the ban on international reporters in the war zone.
It added the two documentary makers behind the film were both based in London.
Speaking with LBC on Wednesday, Danny Cohen, former Director of BBC Television, told Nick Ferrari the BBC broadcast a clearly "bias" documentary.
"At an absolute minimum, audiences, license fee payers, should be aware that the son of a Hamas leader is in it," he told Nick.
"It looks, by the way Nick, [as though] the same child appeared in a Channel 4 story a few weeks ago.
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"He was accompanied by a man that appears to be his father - who is clearly his father."
He also called for “full transparency” over the way in which the organisation conducts its journalism.
A graphic depiction of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, the documentary makers behind the project are now facing criticism over their featured subjects.
The English speaking boy is listed in the film’s credits under his full name, Abdullah Al-Yazouri.
Mr Collier used Facebook and other publicly available data to identify Abdullah, claiming he is the son of Gaza's deputy minister of agriculture, Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri.
Responding to the claims, a BBC spokesman 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.
It added: "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."
Writing on his blog, Mr Collier dissected the documentary, explaining: "The naivety, stupidity and arrogance of our media has long been apparent.
"It has allowed Palestinian propagandists to turn our legacy channels into foolish outlets blindly spouting Hamas lies 24/7."
Later posts on X saw Mr Collier add: “The two photographers followed these children around for months. They absolutely knew who he was. Did either of the producers?
“How did the BBC let a son of a Hamas minister walk around looking for sympathy and demonising Israel for an hour in a BBC documentary?”
He also claims that one of the documentary's cameramen, Amjad Al Fayoumi, posted the phrase "the flood" with a saluting emoji to social media on October 7, 2023.
Mr Collier suggests this was a seeming endorsement of the attack.
It comes as the former director of BBC Television, Danny Cohen, said: "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."
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism added: "If these allegations are true then the BBC has essentially published long-form propaganda for an antisemitic genocidal terror organisation with licence-fee funds."
