Channel 4 to air BBC-commissioned documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack

Channel 4 will air a documentary about the plight of medics in Gaza after the BBC last week announced that it would not show the film following concerns it may create “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect”.

The BBC had originally commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack more than a year ago from an independent production company called Basement Films but had delayed airing it until an ongoing review into a different programme on the region was completed.

The one-off documentary, which includes witness accounts from frontline Palestinian health workers in Gaza and documents attacks on hospitals and clinics, will now air on Channel 4 on July 2 at 10pm.

The film has been “fact-checked and compiled by Channel 4 to ensure it meets Channel 4 editorial standards and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code”, an announcement said.

Meticulously reported

Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs and specialist factual and sport, said in a statement: “This is a meticulously reported and important film examining evidence which supports allegations of grave breaches of international law by Israeli forces that deserves to be widely seen and exemplifies Channel 4’s commitment to brave and fearless journalism.”

In an op-ed, Ms Compton further explained: “We are showing this programme because we believe that, following thorough fact-checking and verification, we are presenting a duly impartial view of a subject that both divides opinion and frequently provokes dispute about what constitutes a fact.

“Channel 4 has a strong tradition of putting uncomfortable reporting in front of our audiences. In doing so, we know we will antagonise somebody somewhere sometime. But we do it because we believe it is our duty to tell important journalistic stories – especially those that aren’t being told elsewhere.”

She added: “Doctors Under Attack was commissioned by another broadcaster, which took a different view of the original content and decided not to broadcast it.

“That other broadcaster will have had its own reasons for not showing the programme.

“For ourselves, after rigorous fact-checking and assessing the film against our own editorial criteria as well as against all regulatory requirements, we decided that it was both compliant with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, but also that it was important journalism in the public interest.

“Any small changes were carried out with the producers to update the film and give viewers as much information as possible.

“The result is harrowing, no doubt. It will make people angry, whichever side they take, or if they take no side.

“But while we would never judge anyone who decides that showing something could create a risk of being thought to be taking sides, we believe there are times when the same risk is run by not showing anything at all.”

Difficult

Basement Films said: “This is the third film we have made about the assault on Gaza since October 7th at Basement Films, and whilst none of them have been easy, this became by far the most difficult.”

The production firm said it owed “everything” to its Palestinian colleagues in Gaza and “the doctors and medics who trusted us with their stories”.

It added: “We want to apologise to the contributors and team for the long delay, and thank Channel 4 for enabling it to be seen.”

Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was greenlit for broadcast by Ms Compton, and was made by reporter Ramita Navai, executive producer Ben De Pear, who was previously editor of Channel 4 News, and director Karim Shah for Basement Films.

Mr De Pear was also previously the executive producer on 2019’s For Sama, which won a Bafta and was nominated for an Oscar.

The BBC pulled the documentary How To Survive A Warzone in February after it emerged that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

In a statement last week, the BBC said it had paused production of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack in April, having made a decision that they could not broadcast the film while a review into a separate Gaza documentary was ongoing.

The BBC said that with both films coming from independent production companies, and both about Gaza, it was right to wait for any relevant findings – and put them into action – before broadcasting the film.

Sign-off

In a statement, the corporation said: “As we said at the time, we transferred ownership of the film material to Basement Films. Anything broadcast will not be a BBC film and has not undergone the BBC’s final pre-broadcast sign-off processes.

“The BBC is committed to covering the conflict in Gaza and has produced powerful coverage. Alongside breaking news and ongoing analysis, we have produced award-winning documentaries such as Life and Death in Gaza, and Gaza 101. We have also investigated allegations of abuse of Palestinian prisoners and Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s hospitals.

“Last week we ran a powerful piece of in-depth journalism that captured the final two weeks inside a Gaza hospital before it was forced to close.”