The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is facing flak for allegedly using a Hamas minister's son to narrate the story of an "ordinary Palestinian" in Gaza. The broadcaster did not disclose to its viewers that the narrator, 14-year-old Abdulla Al-Yazouri, was the son of a senior Hamas leader. It is unclear whether the production team was aware of the fact.
Abdulla is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza's Hamas-run government, according to The Telegraph.
The two-part documentary titled 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone' featured children living in the strip and was aired on Monday night. In the video, the teen is heard asking, "Have you ever wondered what you’d do if your world is destroyed?" The child adds: "Most important, could you stay alive? After all this, you could say we’re experts."
He was one of the three children featured in the documentary narrating the stories of hope and endurance from the war-torn enclave.
However after it came to light that the child was the son of a top Hamas leader, the BBC was accused of playing "Hamas propaganda". Campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism has lodged a formal complaint to the BBC about the broadcast. "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," he said.
It was reportedly Abdullah who got in touch with the BBC, stating he wanted to be part of the programme. In an email exchange via the BBC, Abdullah said he wanted "to explain the suffering that people here in Gaza witness with the language that the world understands, English."
The statement by the BBC said the film told the children’s own stories and their "direct experiences of living through a war and the children’s parents did not have any editorial input.”
There are also allegations that one of the cameramen who worked on the project previously posted messages saluting the October 7 massacre and videos showing off Hamas weapons.