A BBC documentary about Gaza has been pulled from iPlayer after it was accused of spreading terrorist propaganda. The programme, Gaza, aired on BBC Two and is narrated by 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, who describes life in the city during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. But, following an investigation by journalist David Collier, it later emerged that the child is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture. The broadcaster has since apologised ‘for the omission of that detail from the original film’ and has edited the text attached to the programme. A statement from the BBC said: ‘Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone features important stories we think should be told, those of the experiences of children in Gaza. ‘There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company. ‘The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.’ Collier’s investigation cross-referenced social media profiles and other publicly available information. The Facebook profile of Ayman Eliyazouri shows him posting about his son Abdullah, who he calls Aboud. Former BBC chief, Danny Cohen, today described the documentary as a ‘shocking failure by the BBC’ and thinks it will be a ‘a major crisis for its reputation.’ He said: ‘This documentary fails the most basic of programme standards. ‘Links to the terrorist group Hamas were not disclosed, it appears that children have been manipulated by terrorists, a member of the production team celebrated the 7 October Hamas massacre and it now also appears that the documentary has been misleadingly edited. ‘This is a shocking failure by the BBC and a major crisis for its reputation. ‘The BBC’s commitment to impartiality on the Israel-Hamas war lies in tatters. The BBC’s senior leadership needs to wake up now and admit the corporation has a serious problem.’ London-based Hoyo Films made the film after working with the BBC on the documentary Ukraine: Enemy In The Woods. Since October 2023, when Hamas attacked festivalgoers and Israeli settlers, more than 48,000 Palestinians have died, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The militant group is currently releasing hostages to Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has criticised concerns raised about the Hoyo Films documentary, and urged the BBC to ‘stand firm against these attempts to prevent first-hand accounts of life in Gaza from reaching audiences’. A statement from the Harrow-based organisation also said: ‘For some, almost any Palestinian perspective appears to be deemed unacceptable. ‘In this case, objections have been raised because Abdullah’s father holds a government role in Gaza’s Hamas-run administration. However, this does not negate the child’s lived experience or invalidate his testimony.’ On Wednesday, a letter from Friday Night Dinner and EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, Strike producer Neil Blair, former BBC One controller Danny Cohen and producer Leo Pearlman called for the BBC to pull the documentary. In their letter to the BBC, the group asked if the BBC was aware that the narrator and ‘principal contributor’ of the film is the son of a ‘senior leader’ of the terrorist group. They also questioned if the corporation was granted permission by Hamas to make the film. Speaking to LBC on Thursday Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she would be ‘discussing’ the documentary with the BBC. She said: ‘I watched it last night. It’s something that I will be discussing with them, particularly around the way in which they sourced the people who were featured in the programme.’ She added: ‘These things are difficult and I do want to acknowledge that for the BBC, they take more care than most broadcasters in terms of the way that they try to portray these things.’ This is a breaking news story, more to follow.