Watch this now: Once BBC's Living in Gaza War Zone

Before it pulled Gaza Doctors Under Attack under pressure from the Israeli lobby in the UK, the BBC had already withdrawn this documentary — despite having commissioned it — also due to pressure from the same lobby.

“Gaza: Living in a War Zone” was the name of the documentary, and it was released in February 2025.

The documentary follows the lives of four young people navigating the war in Gaza: 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, 11-year-old Zakaria, 10-year-old Renad, and 24-year-old Rana, a new mother.

Watch the documentary

Abdullah, who lives in a tent after being forced to flee his home, serves as the documentary's narrator. Renad, meanwhile, shares her life through a cooking show on TikTok.

Abdullah's father — who does not appear in the film — is reportedly Ayman Al-Yazouri, Gaza’s former deputy agriculture minister.

The BBC aired the documentary in February 2025 to widespread acclaim and positive critical reception, except from pro-Zionist lobbying groups, which launched an aggressive campaign accusing the film of bias and withholding critical information. The core of their argument centered around the undisclosed detail that Abdullah is the son of a former Hamas official.

This, they claimed, compromised the documentary’s impartiality.

In response to the backlash, the BBC pulled the documentary, stating that executive producers had failed to disclose this information.

But what difference does this revelation make to the truth shown in the documentary? Abdullah is a child — a human being living through war — and he should not be punished or discredited because of who his father is. Moreover, multiple media sources have described Ayman Al-Yazouri as a technocrat with a scientific rather than political background. He does not appear in the documentary, nor does the film center on him.

Even if he had appeared, shouldn't we still listen to what he has to say? After all, is impartiality truly the issue here — especially when a senior BBC editor reportedly maintains ties with Israeli intelligence and have held undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials concerning the network’s coverage of the ongoing genocide in Gaza?