The BBC Is Under Fire, But What About Channel 4 and Who is Yousef Hammash?
BBC's Hamas Linked Documentary
The BBC is currently at the center of a major scandal over its documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The film, which featured 13-year-old Abdullah al-Yazouri, has sparked outrage after British Investigative Journalist, David Coller, GAZAWOOD, X account, and , Jonathan Sacerdoti, British Writer, broadcaster and commentator revealed that al-Yazouri and other children featured in the documentary had ties to Hamas and that scenes in the “documentary” were completely staged.
This scandal has sent shockwaves through the world, particularly the fact that the BBC allegedly paid $500,000 or £400,000 for the broadcasting rights to a “documentary” that is pure Hamas propaganda—and they potentially paid Hamas for it. British people are calling for accountability, and there are even calls for a full probe into the BBC. If you want to understand how dangerous the syndication of content is when the source is not vetted, look no further than this most recent scandal. This is a clear example on the dangers of syndicated content when not vetting the source of it properly.
The BBC has since issued a public apology, pulled the documentary from iPlayer, and revealed that the production company, HOYO Films, was aware of these connections but failed to disclose them. But amidst the chaos, one crucial question remains ignored: Who from the HOYO Films knew? Whomever knew they were paying Hamas for using children to spread propaganda should be investigated for providing material support to terrorism.
And this what leads to a very pressing question: What about Channel 4? And what about Yousef Hammash? Yousef Hammash, a Palestinian filmmaker and journalist from Gaza, played a pivotal role in the BBC documentary as the co-producer of BBC’s Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Hammash today works as a news producer for Channel 4 and is based in London, after he left Gaza in September 2024.
Hammash is the protagonist of Channel 4’s This is Gaza, one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of 2024, which won multiple prestigious awards, including a BAFTA, an Emmy, and the Rory Peck Trust Award. Palestinian filmmaker Yousef Hammash, work was described as "the backbone" of the documentary when it won its Emmy. "It's to him we owe so much the credit to," the Channel 4 crew said.” His involvement in both the BBC documentary, which has deep ties to Hamas, and Channel 4’s award-winning This is Gaza demands immediate and serious scrutiny.
While the BBC is under intense fire, we cannot overlook Channel 4’s role or the fact that Hammash is connected to both productions. The public must ask: Are we sure that Channel 4’s documentary is free from any Hamas links? With Hammash’s past involvement in a project tied to Hamas and how the links to Hamas were hidden from the BBC, this question is not just worth asking—it’s one that must be answered. Since November 2023, Channel 4 has used the same child, Abdullah, multiple times under a different name. Was Yousef Hammash involved in providing access to the child? He was in Rafah and Khan Yunis at the same time as Abdullah, according to David Coller, the same journalist who revealed the ties between Hamas and the BBC documentary.
After Yousef Hammash’s key involvement with the BBC documentary, which features a child also used by Channel 4, and his protagonist role in Channel 4’s documentary This is Gaza, how can we be sure that Channel 4’s This is Gaza is not tainted with ties to Hamas? After all, Yousef Hammash is behind both. The focus cannot only be on the BBC. Yousef Hammash, a key player in both the BBC and Channel 4 productions, must face the same scrutiny. There’s strong possibility that Channel 4’s This is Gaza is compromised by the same failures as the BBC’s documentary, it must be investigated urgently.
But there’s an even more pressing issue here: Hammash is currently producing news for Channel 4, a network that the British public relies on. This man, who co-produced a documentary with ties to Hamas, is also directly involved in shaping the news that the British public consumes daily. Given the severity of his previous involvement, Yousef Hammash needs to be fired from his position as a news producer at Channel 4, and the network needs to be held accountable if they continue his employment.
Not to mention, there are troubling rumors circulating that key material tying Hamas to Channel 4's journalists is being deleted or erased. If these rumors are true, this is not just troubling—it’s a full-scale cover-up that must be investigated immediately. This scandal is not only about the BBC, it also involves Channel 4 and Yousef Hammash.
Excellent article! I’ve been following the scandal on X. I would like help getting Yousef Hammash’s doc, This Is Gaza, thoroughly investigated. High School teachers in California, and I’m sure in other states, are showing this in 9th grade World History classes. Totally inappropriate, we need quick action! The indoctrination against Israel & Jews is happening at an even more rapid pace now in K-12 American schools. The situation is critical.
The BBC has used tactics like this for decades… from telling stories from only one side, publishing dramatic and unverified “accounts” as though they are presenting facts, to running sensational, dishonest headlines and publishing photographs from other times and places just to dramatize the lies. I can’t tell you the extraordinary number of retractions the BBC has published after being called out on these despicable practices. Usually, it’s just the Jewish community that fights this journalistic BS and I am so happy to see the antisemitic BBC being called out for the world to see… please share this BBC piece with at many mainstream platforms as possible, because the mainstream usually just ignores it