BBC breached editorial policy with Gaza doc narrated by son of Hamas official: internal review
Article content
The 31-page review by Peter Johnston, director of the BBC's Editorial Complaints and Reviews department, upheld complaints of misleading audiences of the documentary film 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,' due to the fact that its main narrator, a boy named Abdullah, was later found to be the son of a Hamas government official, Ayman Alyazouri, deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-run Gaza government.
Article content
Article content
The London-based production company Hoto Films, which produced the documentary for the BBC, 'had to bring this information to the BBC's attention' but did not and is therefore 'the party with the most responsibility for this failure,' Johnston wrote.
Article content
Article content
'However, I do not consider that the production company intentionally misled the BBC about the narrator's father's position,' he added. Rather, it believed that the father's position 'was a civilian or technocratic one, as opposed to a political or military position in Hamas,' Johnston added. The issue is 'a breach of Guideline 3.3.17 on Accuracy, which deals with misleading audiences,' he added.
Article content
'This is the only breach of the (BBC) Editorial Guidelines I have identified in connection with the Programme,' wrote Johnston.
Article content
All mentions in Arabic of the word 'Jew' were translated in the film as 'Israeli,' but this was not in breach of the guidelines, Johnston wrote, as Gazans often refer to the Israel Defence Forces this way. 'Translating a contributor's words to give the impression they meant to refer to Jewish people generally would therefore also risk misleading audiences,' he claimed.
Article content
Article content
'I do not find there to have been any editorial breaches in respect of the Programme's translation; but I do find that guidance on this topic could be clarified and not just based on previous rulings, as explained further below,' he also said.
Article content
Article content
The inquiry found that the production firm provided payment to the tune of $2,448 and that this was 'reasonable.' An adult earning an average salary in Gaza in 2021 would need to work for 21 months to earn that sum, according to U.N. data. Wages likely dropped even further following the outbreak of war with Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which eliminated many places of employment.
Article content
Johnston also wrote that he had 'not seen or heard any evidence to support a suggestion that the Narrator's father or family influenced the content of the Programme in any way.'
Article content
David Collier, an independent British journalist who exposed the family ties of the narrator Abdullah, dismissed the inquiry's findings as insufficient and criticized the latter's assertion.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages. The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks. The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was 'caught off guard' by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza. Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end. At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes, health officials say One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the city's Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The dead included three women and three children, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said. The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead laying on the ground, according to footage shared by the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service. An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Ahmed Mhana, who said he was waiting on a coastal road for aid trucks, said the crowd was struck twice by Israeli aircraft. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire — including calls to give up power and disarm. Heavy explosions heard in area that avoided major fighting In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which previously has not seen major ground operations or widespread devastation, Palestinians reported heavy explosions from strikes and tank shelling overnight. 'It was non-stop,' Ayman Aby Hassan said. 'We felt that the area was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.' The man, who is in his 40s, fled an area in the southwestern side of Deir al-Balah that was invaded by the military earlier this week. He headed to the Muwasi area near the sea. The Israeli military ordered evacuations from parts of the city earlier this week. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive. More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Church leaders witnessed an 'almost totally destroyed' Gaza In Jerusalem, top church leaders called on the international community to help bring an end to the war in Gaza after making a rare visit to the conflict-ridden territory last week. Their visit came a day after Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell in an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident. 'It is time to end this nonsense, end the war,' Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters. Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said they witnessed a Gaza that was 'almost totally destroyed.' They said they saw older people, women and boys 'totally starved and hungry' and called for urgent humanitarian aid. 'Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm.' Pizzaballa said. 'It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Israel has greatly reduced the amount of aid being let into Gaza and aid that does enter is often met by chaos and violence at distribution points. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Jerusalem. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war. The expansion of Israel's ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
27 inmates are still at large following an Israeli airstrike during the 12-day war
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Tuesday 27 inmates were still at large after an Israeli airstrike last month targeted Evin prison in the north of the capital, Tehran, local media reported. The airstrikes were part of Israel's 12-day bombardment of the Islamic Republic that killed about 1,100 people. while 28 were left dead in Israel in Iranian retaliatory strikes. Judiciary's news website, Mizanonline, quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying 75 prisoners had escaped following the strike, of which 48 were either recaptured or voluntarily returned. He said authorities will detain the others if they don't hand themselves over. Jahangir said the escapees were prisoners doing time for minor offenses. Iranian officials said the Israeli strike killed 71 people, but local media reported earlier in July that 80 were left dead at the time, including prison staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members. Authorities also said five inmates died. It's unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets 'based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.' The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.
