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Channel 4 Under Scrutiny for Featuring Hamas Official’s Son in Award-Winning Gaza Coverage


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Channel 4 News is facing renewed criticism after it was revealed that its award-winning coverage of the Israel-Hamas war included footage of the son of a senior Hamas official without disclosing his identity. The controversy follows the BBC’s decision to retract a documentary that also featured the teenager due to "serious flaws" in its production.  

 

Watch the son of a Hamas minister push a lie that Israel chose his fate. No Abdullah. Your dad and his Hamas mates did. And Channel 4 happily share this scripted junk as news.

 

For seven months, Channel 4 News repeatedly broadcast footage of 13-year-old Abdullah al-Yazouri, portraying him as an ordinary Palestinian boy struggling to survive in war-torn Gaza. However, the programme failed to disclose that he was the son of Dr. Ayman Alyazouri, the deputy agriculture minister in Hamas’s government. In one report, Abdullah was depicted selling chocolate on the streets of Rafah to “make a living” and “help support his family,” without any mention of his father’s political role.  

 

November 2023. This is Abdullah on Channel 4 news. The same Abdullah BBC News would screen 15 months later. Channel 4 get his name wrong - and put him with the wrong father.  Here he is trying to convince himself he doesn't want to die. Oscars for the boy.

 

The programme’s coverage, widely praised for its reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, has won at least six prestigious awards, including recognition from the Royal Television Society (RTS) and the Press Gazette as News Programme of the Year in 2024. It also secured a Bafta and an International Emmy for its war reporting, while individual reporters such as Secunder Kermani received accolades for their work in Gaza.  

 

December 2023. Abdullah is on Channel 4 again. Pushing Hamas propaganda. '30 people dead - more under the rubble'.  This son of a Hamas minister. also pushes the famine lie - searching every day for water - 'we may find it, we may not'... And on to our screens as news it goes.

 

However, the RTS has now placed its award under review following the revelation about Abdullah’s background. The BBC recently pulled its documentary *Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone* from iPlayer, issuing an apology for failing to disclose Abdullah’s family ties and for unknowingly allowing payments to be made to his mother for his participation.  

 

April 2024. It is Abdullah on Channel 4 again. Now a street seller. Watch the son of a Hamas minister push a lie that Israel chose his fate. No Abdullah. Your dad and his Hamas mates did. And Channel 4 happily share this scripted junk as news.

 

Channel 4 News acknowledged that its journalists became aware of Abdullah’s true identity in the summer of 2024 but only added an online clarification after investigative journalist David Collier exposed the issue. Between November 2023 and April 2024, the programme repeatedly featured Abdullah, presenting him under a different surname and misidentifying his uncle as his father.  

 

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Collier criticized Channel 4 News for keeping Abdullah’s true identity hidden for months. “Channel 4 News has admitted its staff knew who Abdullah really was but withheld that information from the public until my investigation forced them to reveal it. This raises serious concerns about their journalistic integrity,” he said. He also called for all awards granted to the programme’s Gaza coverage to be revoked pending an independent review.  

Abdullah was first introduced to Channel 4 News viewers in November 2023 under the name “Abdullah Abu Shamala.” He was shown touring the ruins of Khan Younis after an Israeli airstrike, while a man later identified as his uncle, Khalil Abu Shammala, was presented as his father. Khalil Abu Shammala was previously the director of Al Dameer, an NGO that advocates for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.  

 

Collier argued that the segment was misleading, as it implied Israeli strikes were targeting civilian areas with no Hamas presence. “Yet moments later, the audience meets a family now known to be led by a Hamas minister. This crucial detail was withheld, creating the false impression of an ordinary Palestinian household,” he said.  

 

In a later broadcast on December 11, 2023, Abdullah appeared again, claiming to be searching for food and water while describing his situation as “living hell on earth.” By April 2024, Channel 4 News reported that Abdullah and his family had fled to Rafah, where he was selling sweets on the street to survive. His father’s position within Hamas was still not disclosed.  

 

During that broadcast, Kermani stated: “We began following 13-year-old Abdullah shortly after Israel’s war on Gaza began. Forced to flee again and again, he’s now in Rafah, selling sweets to try and help support his family.” Abdullah, standing at a makeshift stall with a few chocolate bars, said: “I never thought I would sell chocolate to make a living. I used to study in a professional school. Now there’s no school. There’s nothing, just selling stuff for living to make it out of this hell we are in.”  

 

He also expressed frustration, blaming Israel for his situation: “From a student to a seller. Why? Why? I didn’t choose this fate. Nobody chose this fate. Israel chose this fate for me.”  

 

In response to the controversy, ITN, which produces Channel 4 News, defended its coverage, stating that no payments were made to Abdullah’s family and rejecting claims that his statements were scripted. ITN also asserted that Abdullah did not appear in the specific reports that won Bafta, RTS, or International Emmy awards, though RTS has confirmed its award is now under review.  

 

A Channel 4 News spokesperson stated that Abdullah was sourced through an experienced journalist who had also worked for other major global media outlets. The spokesperson acknowledged that the boy’s identity was initially miscommunicated due to an error by a local fixer and that the programme ceased featuring him after learning of his father’s position in Hamas.  

 

Channel 4 News said that once its senior leadership became aware of the situation, they acted to provide additional context to archived reports. Social media posts that could not be updated were removed as part of “standard editorial procedures.” The changes were made on February 20, 2025.  

 

With increasing scrutiny on its reporting, Channel 4 News now faces pressure to retract its coverage featuring Abdullah, while its journalism awards remain in question.

 

Based on a report by Daily Telegraph  2025-03-05

 

Related Topics:

BBC Could Face Counter-Terror Investigation Over Payments to Hamas Official’s Family

BBC Admits ‘Serious Flaws’ in Gaza Documentary, Apologizes for Oversight

Did BBC Pay Hamas Members To Be In Documentary?

BBC Faces Fresh Backlash Over Alleged Gaza Documentary Cover-Up

BBC Doc Features Son Of Hamas Leader but Fails to Disclose to Viewers

 

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Posted

Well "strap my vitals", Channel 4 being less than truthful when reporting from Gaza!

 

How completely out of character!

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