Latest news with #Abdullahal-Yazouri
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC puts new Gaza film on hold amid bias row
A new BBC Gaza documentary is facing an 'indefinite' delay until a review into a controversial film with links to Hamas has been completed. The programme, provisionally titled Gaza: Medics Under Fire, follows Palestinian doctors and health-care workers in the war zone, and had been due to air in February. However, it was pulled after a previous film on Gaza was found to have been narrated by the son of a Hamas government minister. The contentious documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, featured Abdullah al-Yazouri as its teenage narrator, but did not disclose his family's links to the proscribed terror group. The BBC removed the film from iPlayer amid a backlash, admitting 'serious flaws' in its production, and announced an internal investigation. The review will look at errors including the payment of £790 by an independent production company, Hoyo Films, to the boy's family. It has now emerged that the investigation has led to a separate documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, being put on hold. The film's production company, Basement Films, expressed frustration that its work could be affected by the scandal. The company, which is not linked to the film under investigation, said it was 'deeply disappointed' with the 'repeated and indefinite delays'. The documentary includes interviews with Palestinian doctors who survived attacks on hospitals, with some claiming to have been detained and tortured. 'We are desperate for a confirmed release date in order to be able to tell the surviving doctors and medics when their stories will be told,' the production company added. The BBC said that it would show the film 'as soon as possible' after its review into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone had finished, but it has not set a date. A spokesman for the corporation said: 'This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible. We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary. Basement Films is run by Ben de Pear, a former editor at Channel 4 News, who has won Emmy and Bafta awards for his work. The Times reported that one BBC insider claimed the fallout from the first film had left bosses 'terrified' of showing anything about Gaza, but that others were reportedly relieved that it had been held back. 'The BBC has already done a lot about the suffering of Gazans because of Israel's actions,' the insider told The Times. The review is being led by Peter Johnston, the BBC's editorial complaints chief. He has interviewed staff and the team behind Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, but The Times reported that legal issues have slowed its progress. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, has told Dr Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, that it will step in if not satisfied with the internal investigation. It comes after The Telegraph revealed that the BBC is to appoint an independent figure to investigate allegations of anti-Semitism on its Arabic channel. On Saturday, Dr Shah also suggested the corporation's wider reporting on the Israel-Gaza conflict would now be reviewed. Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'The Arabic service, we are looking at it, we've been examining it. I think this whole business of how we've covered Israel-Gaza is a proper thing to examine thoroughly, which is why we're going to identify... we're going to get hold of an independent figure to look at our coverage.' BBC sources said a 'thematic review' of its reporting on the Middle East conflict will be 'independent and published in full' for presentation to the board. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
BBC puts new Gaza film on hold amid bias row
A new BBC Gaza documentary is facing an 'indefinite' delay until a review into a controversial film with links to Hamas has been completed. The programme, provisionally titled Gaza: Medics Under Fire, follows Palestinian doctors and health-care workers in the war zone, and had been due to air in February. However, it was pulled after a previous film on Gaza was found to have been narrated by the son of a Hamas government minister. The contentious documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, featured Abdullah al-Yazouri as its teenage narrator, but did not disclose his family's links to the proscribed terror group. The BBC removed the film from iPlayer amid a backlash, admitting 'serious flaws' in its production, and announced an internal investigation. The review will look at errors including the payment of £790 by an independent production company, Hoyo Films, to the boy's family. It has now emerged that the investigation has led to a separate documentary, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, being put on hold. The film's production company, Basement Films, expressed frustration that its work could be affected by the scandal. 'Indefinite delays' The company, which is not linked to the film under investigation, said it was 'deeply disappointed' with the 'repeated and indefinite delays'. The documentary includes interviews with Palestinian doctors who survived attacks on hospitals, with some claiming to have been detained and tortured. 'We are desperate for a confirmed release date in order to be able to tell the surviving doctors and medics when their stories will be told,' the production company added. The BBC said that it would show the film 'as soon as possible' after its review into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone had finished, but it has not set a date. A spokesman for the corporation said: 'This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible. We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary. Basement Films is run by Ben de Pear, a former editor at Channel 4 News, who has won Emmy and Bafta awards for his work. The Times reported that one BBC insider claimed the fallout from the first film had left bosses 'terrified' of showing anything about Gaza, but that others were reportedly relieved that it had been held back. 'The BBC has already done a lot about the suffering of Gazans because of Israel's actions,' the insider told The Times. The review is being led by Peter Johnston, the BBC's editorial complaints chief. He has interviewed staff and the team behind Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, but The Times reported that legal issues have slowed its progress. Regulator could get involved Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, has told Dr Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, that it will step in if not satisfied with the internal investigation. It comes after The Telegraph revealed that the BBC is to appoint an independent figure to investigate allegations of anti-Semitism on its Arabic channel. On Saturday, Dr Shah also suggested the corporation's wider reporting on the Israel-Gaza conflict would now be reviewed. Speaking to Times Radio, he said: 'The Arabic service, we are looking at it, we've been examining it. I think this whole business of how we've covered Israel-Gaza is a proper thing to examine thoroughly, which is why we're going to identify... we're going to get hold of an independent figure to look at our coverage.' BBC sources said a 'thematic review' of its reporting on the Middle East conflict will be 'independent and published in full' for presentation to the board.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Dimbleby brands Royal Television Society ‘cowards' for pulling Gaza award
Jonathan Dimbleby has called Royal Television Society (RTS) executives cowards for scrapping an award for journalists in Gaza because they did not want to deepen the controversy around a BBC documentary on the conflict. The historian and presenter is one of 300 TV and film professionals who have signed a letter to the society criticising its last-minute decision not to award the prize at an awards ceremony last week, as a result of the fallout from Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The documentary was pulled from BBC's online streaming services in February and is the subject of an internal investigation after claims emerged that Abdullah al-Yazouri, the film's 13-year-old narrator, was the son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. It also emerged that a Hamas official's daughter, who appeared to celebrate the Oct 7 attacks, was paid during its making. Dimbleby told The Times: 'The decision is craven and the grounds on which it has been made – the fact that there is an issue around one BBC film – are specious and shallow. No journalist working in Gaza was involved in the making of that film.' He added: 'We depend hugely on the reporting of those journalists who are in Gaza, who put their lives on the line every day, because no Western journalists can enter except on specially conducted trips. 'The RTS is rightly held in very high regard and that it should suddenly abdicate its role because it doesn't want to muddy the water is cowardly and ill-judged.' In an email to the chairmen of the society's jury, first cited by the news website Deadline, the RTS said it did not wish to 'add fuel to the fire in this current environment'. Adrian Wells, chairman of the RTS Television Journalism Awards, said last week: 'We had planned to award it to 'Journalists in Gaza' to recognise their enormous efforts over the last 18 months or so of extreme pressure and endeavour. However, this award, in the end will not be given on Wednesday. 'Already this has become a political football and the RTS is keen not to add fuel to the fire in this current environment. 'It is a shame that this cannot proceed but rest assured there is a very strong showing and recognition of journalism from Gaza throughout the rest of the evening.' An RTS spokesman said: 'Investigations have recently been launched into a number of news reports from Gaza and, as those reviews are ongoing, we didn't feel it was appropriate to proceed with the award this year.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Jonathan Dimbleby brands Royal Television Society ‘cowards' for pulling Gaza award
Jonathan Dimbleby has called Royal Television Society (RTS) executives cowards for scrapping an award for journalists in Gaza because they did not want to deepen the controversy around a BBC documentary on the conflict. The historian and presenter is one of 300 TV and film professionals who have signed a letter to the society criticising its last-minute decision not to award the prize at an awards ceremony last week, as a result of the fallout from Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The documentary was pulled from BBC's online streaming services in February and is the subject of an internal investigation after claims emerged that Abdullah al-Yazouri, the film's 13-year-old narrator, was the son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. It also emerged that a Hamas official's daughter, who appeared to celebrate the Oct 7 attacks, was paid during its making. Dimbleby told The Times: 'The decision is craven and the grounds on which it has been made – the fact that there is an issue around one BBC film – are specious and shallow. No journalist working in Gaza was involved in the making of that film.' He added: 'We depend hugely on the reporting of those journalists who are in Gaza, who put their lives on the line every day, because no Western journalists can enter except on specially conducted trips. 'The RTS is rightly held in very high regard and that it should suddenly abdicate its role because it doesn't want to muddy the water is cowardly and ill-judged.' 'Fuel to fire' In an email to the chairmen of the society's jury, first cited by the news website Deadline, the RTS said it did not wish to 'add fuel to the fire in this current environment'. Adrian Wells, chairman of the RTS Television Journalism Awards, said last week: 'We had planned to award it to 'Journalists in Gaza' to recognise their enormous efforts over the last 18 months or so of extreme pressure and endeavour. However, this award, in the end will not be given on Wednesday. 'Already this has become a political football and the RTS is keen not to add fuel to the fire in this current environment. 'It is a shame that this cannot proceed but rest assured there is a very strong showing and recognition of journalism from Gaza throughout the rest of the evening.' An RTS spokesman said: 'Investigations have recently been launched into a number of news reports from Gaza and, as those reviews are ongoing, we didn't feel it was appropriate to proceed with the award this year.'
The Independent
04-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Channel 4 says son of Hamas official featured in ‘handful of minutes' of output
Channel 4 News has admitted the son of a Hamas official featured in parts of its daily coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The boy in question, Abdullah al-Yazouri, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture, and he also featured in the BBC documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone. Channel 4 said it had 'thoroughly reviewed' how the youngster came to appear in 'three short news segments for the programme', but denied he had featured in a documentary or any of its coverage which won awards. The broadcaster said his appearances represented only a 'handful of minutes across hundreds of hours' of output. A statement from the broadcaster said: 'Abdullah al-Yazouri did categorically not appear in any documentary broadcast on Channel 4, as has been erroneously misreported by the Daily Telegraph on the front page of this morning's early editions. 'The packages in which Abdullah al-Yazouri appeared were aired as part of daily news coverage during the conflict, representing a handful of minutes across hundreds of hours of Channel 4 News output covering the Israel-Hamas war. 'He appeared alongside other voices, including Israeli voices, as part of wider packaging and reporting for Channel 4 News and in line with our principles of due impartiality.' Channel 4 said no payment was made to the boy or any of his family members, and that, once the foreign reporting team became aware of the role the boy's father held, they 'took a decision not to feature him again'. The statement continued: 'Neither Abdullah al-Yazouri or any of members of his family received any payment from Channel 4 News for the appearances, and (director) Yousef Hammash was not involved in sourcing or filming him. 'As international media access is restricted, Abdullah was sourced through an established journalist who has also worked for other major global media outlets. 'As has been widely reported since February 18, subsequent to the broadcast of these news items, it emerged that Abdullah's father is Ayman al-Yazouri, a deputy agricultural minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. 'The identity of the man named as his uncle in the first report was miscommunicated to Channel 4 News as his father by a local fixer on the ground. 'Channel 4 News' experienced foreign reporting team became aware his father held a technocratic role within the Hamas government in summer 2024 and they took a decision not to feature him again. 'Once Channel 4 News' senior leadership team recently became aware, action was taken to provide additional context to the archived online copy of the reports in which Abdullah features. Where context could not be added, namely to social media, the content was removed in line with standard editorial procedures. This action was taken on February 20. 'Abdullah al-Yazouri did not feature in any of Channel 4 News' award-winning coverage, including the International Emmy, RTS, Bafta, British Journalism Awards, or Broadcast Awards.' The broadcaster said it is 'proud of its duly impartial coverage throughout the conflict which has upheld the highest editorial standards'. 'We continue to mark the contribution of our colleagues across Israel and Gaza who contributed to news coverage for Channel 4 News, in reporting the conflict between Israel and Hamas.' Last year, Channel 4 News was named news programme of the year at the annual Royal Television Society (RTS) awards, and also took home the title of news provider of the year at the 2024 British Journalism Awards. RTS said in a statement: 'The RTS has concluded its review following Channel 4 News' confirmation that no video material featuring Abdullah al-Yazouri has featured in their awards entries for 2024 or the forthcoming awards for 2025.' Last week the BBC issued an apology and removed the documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone from iPlayer, saying it had 'identified serious flaws' in the making of the programme. A statement from the corporation added that a full 'fact-finding review' will be undertaken, and that it has 'no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer'.
