A BBC documentary which substituted the word “Israeli” for “Jews” in its translation of interviews with Palestinians has been nominated for a Bafta.

Children of the Gaza War, which aired on BBC2 in July, followed journalist Lyse Doucet as she spoke to children in Israel and Gaza in the wake of the 50-day war.

The programme will compete with three other shows for the prestigious award’s current affairs category. It is up against Channel 4’s Escape from Isis, which aired on Dispatches; ITV’s Jidad: A British Story and BBC2’s Outbreak: The Truth About Ebola.

At the time of its airing, Ms Doucet stood by the decision to translate “yahud” as “Israeli” in subtitles on her hour-long documentary.

The correct translation for “yahud” from Arabic to English is “Jew”.

The BBC’s chief international correspondent said that Gazan translators had advised her that Palestinian children interviewed on the programme who refer to “the Jews” actually meant Israelis.

In one instance, a Gazan child says the “yahud” are massacring Palestinians. However the subtitles read: “Israel is massacring us”.

Canada-born Ms Doucet told the JC: “We talked to people in Gaza, we talked to translators. When [the children] say ‘Jews’, they mean ‘Israelis’.

“We felt it was a better translation of it.”

She added: “We checked this again yesterday.

“We are not trying to cover it up – we took advice on it and that was the advice we were given by translators.”

The programme follows the lives of Israelis and Gazan children during and after the 50-day war, known as Operation Protective Edge, in summer 2014.

Also nominated for a Bafta is broadcaster and writer Stephen Fry. Mr Fry, who is Jewish, has been nominated in the entertainment performance category for presenting BBC2’s QI. He is up against TV personalities Graham Norton, Leigh Francis and Romesh Ranganathan.