The BBC streaming service, iPlayer, released a documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The film has since been taken off of the platform due to the discovery that the 13-year old narrator is the child of a Hamas official. The boy’s name is Abdullah Al-Yazouri and he is one of the four subjects the film follows. His father is the Hamas deputy of minister of agriculture and when this information came to light pro-Israel groups have slammed the documentary and the network. Due to this the BBC immediately took the documentary off of its streaming platform. 

BBC made a statement about the documentary, “BBC News takes full responsibility for these [flaws] and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation…[and there are] no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer”, says The Hollywood Reporter. 

Hoyo Films was the production company behind the film and they have stated that there was no money or any form of compensation given to Hamas. They have also claimed that BBC was unaware of any affiliation between the subjects of the film and Hamas. 

Since the film’s removal, multiple people have come forward to protest for the restoration of the film. People stated that the focus should be on the children in Gaza instead of politics. 

The film is currently under review and BBC has not confirmed nor denied if the film will be permanently removed from the site.