On 17 February 2025 the BBC broadcast an hour-long documentary Gaza – how to survive a war zone. The film shows present-day life in Gaza seen through the eyes of children and highlighted that despite the complete devastation the people still try to lead normal lives.
The reaction from Israel supporters was predictably apoplectic and a complaint was mounted on the fact that one of the children is the son of a Gazan deputy minister. The BBC in response did not stand by the programme-makers but suddenly found ‘serious flaws’; their statement is HERE. They took the film off iPlayer and promised not to show it again. An open letter from over 800 media personalities is HERE and THIS was the response from Artists for Palestine. A petition to the BBC to reinstate the programme can be signed from HERE.
The film is still out there on the internet, you can try HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE.
The BBC also sat on and refused to broadcast another documentary they commissioned from Basement Films about Israel’s attack on the Gaza health service. That film has now been broadcast by Channel 4 and can be watched online HERE.The rights wre bought by Meteo and the film can also be watched HERE.