The BBC is facing mounting criticism from across the UK’s screen and medical industries after it has repeatedly delayed the broadcast of a documentary titled Gaza: Medics Under Fire. The film details attacks on Palestinian health workers and hospitals during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The documentary – produced by Basement Films, the company headed by former Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear – was scheduled to air in early 2025 and has been described as a “powerful piece of reporting” by the BBC itself. However, for reasons yet to be made public, the corporation has since postponed its release. It has told AOAV that an internal review into a previous Gaza-focused documentary, How to Survive a Warzone, which featured a teenage narrator later revealed to be the son of a Hamas official, is the cause of the delay.
Despite reassurances from de Pear that Gaza: Medics Under Fire has undergone extensive editorial scrutiny, fact-checking and legal review, no new air date has been provided.
In a statement to AOAV, the BBC said: “We are committed to journalism which tells our audiences the stories of this war, including what is happening in Gaza. This documentary is a powerful piece of reporting and we will broadcast it as soon as possible. We have taken an editorial decision not to do so while we have an ongoing review into a previous documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.”
However, it has been reported that many in the film and health sectors have taken issue with the BBC’s handling of the matter. A joint letter organised by the UK Screen Industry and signed by numerous industry professionals has accused the BBC of “political suppression” and “systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives.” The letter calls out the delay as a “clear act of censorship.”
Health Workers 4 Palestine, whose members helped connect the filmmakers with medics in Gaza, went on the record to say: “The health workers featured in this documentary have witnessed countless colleagues being killed, and have risked their lives not only to care for their patients, but to document and expose the relentless targeting by Israel of healthcare infrastructure and personnel.”
Basement Films has echoed these concerns. It has said in a public statement: “We gathered searing testimony from multiple Palestinian doctors and health workers who had survived attacks on hospitals and their homes that killed both colleagues and loved ones. We also spoke to multiple medics who had been detained and testified they had been tortured. We made solemn undertakings that their stories would be told and done so as soon as possible.”
Dr Iain Overton, Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), spoke out about the delay: “Not quickly airing the voices of medics who have risked everything to document the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system is not editorial caution – it could be seen as an abdication of public duty. In times of war, the role of journalists must be to confront power, not be fearful before it. If this film is ready, it should be shown.”
The delay has naturally added to the wider debate about the BBC’s impartiality in its reporting on Israel and Palestine, especially in the wake of pressure from politicians and media commentators to scrutinise the broadcaster’s Middle East coverage. Historian William Dalrymple has joined those criticising the decision, writing on social media: “The BBC really needs to get a spine. It is wrecking its reputation with its systematic censorship of the news out of Gaza.”
According to The Times, internal sources at the BBC described the corporation’s leadership as “terrified” of further controversy following the backlash over How to Survive a Warzone. Meanwhile, others within the organisation reportedly have said that “the BBC has already done a lot about the suffering of Gazans because of Israel’s actions.”
Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has said it is monitoring the situation closely and has written to BBC Chairman Dr Samir Shah indicating it may intervene if not satisfied with the outcome of the internal investigation.
For now, the doctors and health workers who participated in Gaza: Medics Under Fire are left without clarity on when, or if, their testimonies will be aired. It is an omission that, to many, speaks volumes.
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