UK
Ofcom rules BBC Gaza documentary was ‘materially misleading’
The regulator concluded that the BBC committed a ‘serious breach’ of broadcasting rules
October 17, 2025 11:50
The regulator concluded that the BBC committed a ‘serious breach’ of broadcasting rules
October 17, 2025 11:50Ofcom, the UK’s broadcast media regulator, has ruled that the BBC committed a "serious breach" of its rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of their documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was the son of a Hamas official.
The documentary, which premiered on BBC Two on February 17, was later pulled from the iPlayer after it emerged that the narrator and chief protagonist – a 13-year-old boy named Abdullah al-Yazouri – was the son of Hamas' deputy minister of agriculture.
This fact had not been disclosed to audiences prior to the broadcast.
Making its ruling on Friday, Ofcom said: "Trust is at the heart of the relationship between a broadcaster and its audience, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC. This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of trust that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war. ”
It went on: "Our investigation found that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's father held a position in the Hamas-run administration was materially misleading.
"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he provided.”
The regulator has ordered the BBC to broadcast a prime-time statement about its conclusions, saying: "As this represents a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the BBC to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 9pm, with a date to be confirmed.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “The Ofcom ruling is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston’s review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the BBC’s editorial guidelines on accuracy … We have apologised for this and we accept Ofcom’s decision in full. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the date and wording are finalised.”
The programme was made for the BBC by an independent production company, Hoyo Films, run by Emmy and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Jamie Roberts. Overseeing the film for the BBC were Joanna Carr, head of current affairs, and commissioning editors Gian Quaglieni and Sarah Waldron.
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