LISTEN: Interview about controversy surrounding BBC's 'very one-sided' Gaza documentary

A recent BBC documentary following the lives of three Gaza children has come under scrutiny due to revelations about the children's familial ties to Hamas and concerns over mistranslations. The documentary, produced by London-based Hoyo Films, covered more than one year of the children's experiences during the war, up to January 2025.

Independent journalist David Collier revealed that the documentary’s main narrator, Abdullah Ali-Azuri, is the son of a Hamas deputy agricultural minister. The second child, Ranaad, is the daughter of a Hamas-controlled police officer, while the third boy was later identified in a photo wearing an Al-Qassam Brigades headband while posing with an armed militant.

Christian journalist Paul Calvert interviewed a team member with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) regarding the controversy surrounding the BBC documentary.

“These weren’t just any old kids, they had so much linking to Hamas,” the interviewee stated.

Another major issue was the mistranslation of Arabic terms in the subtitles. The word Yahud (which means ‘Jews’ in Arabic) was translated as ‘Israel’ or ‘Israeli forces,’ and jihad was softened to ‘fighting’ or ‘struggle,’ removing its religious connotation of war in the name of Islam. “There were seven cases in which there were gross omissions in the subtitles,” it was revealed.

Concerns have also been raised about whether payments made to the families for their participation in the documentary indirectly benefited Hamas.

“The current BBC version is that while the father is a Hamas official, the payments were transferred to his daughter and mother,” the interviewee noted, questioning whether this arrangement circumvented UK laws banning financial support to the terror group.

Further controversy arose around the documentary’s cameramen, with two out of three reportedly having posted content glorifying terrorism on social media. One posted an emoji saluting the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, while another celebrated a previous terror attack in Tel Aviv.

Critics argued that the documentary lacked objectivity, barely acknowledging Israeli casualties and the hostage crisis. “It was all very one-sided… a propaganda piece in the sense that it was not a documentary,” the interviewee claimed.

The BBC network, which has faced longstanding accusations of bias against Israel, has yet to provide a thorough explanation of its editorial oversight on this matter. Calls for greater scrutiny of publicly-funded media and higher journalistic standards continue to intensify.

Click below to listen to the full interview.