BBC Reprimanded by Ofcom Over Gaza Documentary – Narrator Revealed to Be Son of Hamas Official

According to Rokna — 13-year-old Abdullah al-Yazouri — was introduced in the BBC documentary “Gaza: How to Survive in a War Zone” as an ordinary child living in Gaza. However, the BBC failed to reveal that he was the son of Ayman al-Yazouri, Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the Hamas government.

Ofcom described this omission as “seriously misleading,” warning that it could undermine public trust in the BBC’s reporting.

Following Ofcom’s findings, the BBC removed the documentary from its online platform and admitted to “serious shortcomings” in its production. The regulator has ordered the BBC to publicly acknowledge the violation during its flagship BBC Two 9 p.m. news program — the first such directive since 2008.

An internal BBC investigation revealed that the independent production company Heyu Films had been aware of the narrator’s family connection to Hamas but had failed to communicate this to the BBC editorial team. Ofcom therefore concluded that the incident represented a major breach of broadcasting regulations and required a public on-air statement.

The documentary was removed from BBC iPlayer in February after the familial connection came to light.

In July, an internal review led by Peter Johnston, BBC’s Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, determined that the program had violated the corporation’s editorial guidelines on accuracy.

A BBC spokesperson stated: “Ofcom’s ruling is consistent with Peter Johnston’s findings that the documentary represented a significant failure to meet BBC’s editorial standards on accuracy, which reflect section 2.2 of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. We have apologized and fully accept Ofcom’s decision. Once the date and format of the sanction are finalized, we will comply accordingly.”

The BBC also told Ofcom that it “generally accepted that a serious breach of its editorial standards occurred” and pledged to “implement a series of measures to ensure future compliance with its own and Ofcom’s standards.”

The incident has sparked widespread criticism in media circles and among the public, raising fresh concerns over the BBC’s credibility in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict.