7 March 2025

“If Anything Happens to Me, the BBC Is Responsible”: 13-Year-Old Gaza Narrator Speaks Out After “Surviving Gaza” Documentary Erased

These are the words of 13-year-old Abdullah Al Yazuri, the Palestinian child narrator of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. After spending nine months working on the documentary, he has been left exposed to threats and harassment following the BBC’s decision to pull the film under political pressure. Now, he is speaking out.

The BBC, a public broadcaster entrusted with journalistic integrity, has instead chosen to silence Palestinian voices. Its decision to pull Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, narrated by 13-year-old Abdullah Al Yazuri, has sparked widespread condemnation from actors, journalists, and human rights advocates. More than 700 media professionals, including Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Riz Ahmed, and Gary Lineker, have denounced the move, accusing the BBC of erasing Palestinian suffering at the behest of political pressure.

The documentary, which gave a harrowing insight into the experience of children living under Israeli bombardment, was quietly removed from the BBC’s iPlayer following intense pressure from British officials, pro-Israel groups, and media figures. The broadcaster later attempted to justify its decision by claiming it had only learned after the fact that Abdullah’s father is a deputy minister in Gaza’s government. But this reasoning is deeply flawed—working in a government role does not make someone responsible for Hamas, nor should it disqualify a child from narrating a documentary about his own people’s suffering. If this standard were applied consistently, no Palestinian would ever be allowed to speak.

More disturbingly, the BBC’s response completely ignores the reality that Abdullah was reporting on what has been characterised as plausible genocide by international courts, human rights organisations, Holocaust scholars, and survivors. The International Court of Justice has already ruled that Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly meet the legal definition of genocide. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B’Tselem have accused Israel of apartheid and war crimes. The International Criminal Court has determined that Israel is committing the crime of starvation. Yet instead of reckoning with the gravity of what the documentary exposed, the BBC has chosen to fixate on bureaucratic technicalities and financial audits, as if these procedural missteps justify suppressing the film entirely.

This is not simply an editorial failure—it is an active suppression of Palestinian testimony, enabled by external pressure campaigns. The BBC reportedly received around 500 complaints from pro-Israel groups, and the UK government itself called an urgent meeting with the broadcaster over the film. The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a pro-Israel lobbying organisation, publicly pushed for its removal. Yet, no such scrutiny is applied when Israeli officials, soldiers, or settlers are given platforms. The BBC’s compliance with these demands raises serious concerns about its ability to report independently on Israeli war crimes.

Meanwhile, Abdullah, the 13-year-old boy at the heart of the film, has been left in danger. His involvement has made him a target, yet the BBC has shown no sign of taking responsibility for his safety or that of his family. Instead, they discarded him the moment his words became too uncomfortable. “If anything happens to me, the BBC is responsible,” he warns in his first interview with Middle East Eye, making it clear that he and his family have been left vulnerable to harassment, cyberbullying, and stalking.

Beyond the immediate risks, the injustice runs deeper. For nine months, Abdullah worked tirelessly on this documentary, providing both his voice and his lived experience. “I recorded more than 60 hours of footage, and it was all wiped. It is extremely disappointing and heartbreaking for me,” he says. Despite being at the core of the film, he was paid just £1,000—categorised as expenses, not even proper compensation. The film’s makers and producers continue to be recognised for their work, yet the child whose voice carried its message has been abandoned.

Gary Lineker, a senior BBC figure himself, has openly criticised the decision, along with broadcaster Anita Rani and actress Miriam Margolyes. More than 700 figures from the media industry have spoken out, highlighting the growing outrage over the BBC’s willingness to bend under pressure and censor Palestinian realities.

Abdullah insists his narration was neutral. “I was very impartial in this film. I did not add or take away anything. The script I read was provided by the production company,” he explains. But none of this mattered. The BBC removed the film without apology, ignoring the consequences for the child whose voice they had used.

Award-winning journalist Richard Sanders summed up the hypocrisy in an interview with Owen Jones:

“Why is it always the Palestinian side that is under scrutiny? Why are we never shouting at people because they shared a platform with the Israeli ambassador or they have connections with the IDF? Israel is the state that all of the world’s leading human rights organisations, including B’Tselem, which is Israeli, have deemed guilty of apartheid. Israel is under investigation for genocide by the ICJ. Amnesty has concluded it is guilty of genocide. Human Rights Watch and the International Criminal Court have determined it is guilty of the crime of starvation. Why is it the victims that are endlessly put under the most minute and intense moral scrutiny about whether they have the right to speak or not?

“Hamas is an integral part of Palestinian life. They won the elections. They were the government of Gaza. If you are going to say that anyone who is in any way connected with Hamas is persona non grata, you are effectively silencing the Palestinian people, which of course is the aim of it.

“They have publicly humiliated the production team, placed them in a very dangerous, vulnerable position given the propensity of the Israeli state to kill journalists. And shown no duty of care to the young boy whose only crime is to have this man as his father. The script was not written by the young boy, it was written by the production company. No one is disputing the narrative, which is important—they are silencing Palestinian voices.”

Owen Jones, too, raised a critical point about the BBC’s own obligations:

“It is in the BBC Charter to have a duty of care to children. Where is the duty of care to this young child?”

The BBC is meant to be an independent public broadcaster, not the toy of Israel’s political lobby. Yet it has continually allowed external pressure to dictate its editorial decisions. It has abandoned a child to danger while bending to the demands of those who wish to erase Palestinian testimony.

If the BBC will not stand by the voices it amplifies, then what does it stand for?

Write to the BBC and demand they answer for this disgraceful erasure. Demand the documentary be reinstated, that Abdullah be paid, and that his safety be protected.

Do not let them erase his voice.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/...