Sectarian clashes in Syria leave at least 30 dead and scores injured
At the end of last year, Sunni Islamist-rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stormed Damascus. They toppled President Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled the country for 54 years.Syria's interior ministry said early on Monday its forces would directly intervene to resolve the conflict and halt the clashes, which it said had left 100 injured. The governor of Sweida, Mustapha al-Bakur, called on his constituents to "exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform".Spiritual leaders have also called for calm. In April and May clashes between the new security forces and Druze fighters killed dozens of people. The Druze faith is an off-shoot of Shia Islam, with sizeable communities also in Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Under the Assad regime, many were quietly loyal to the state in the hope it would offer protection during the 13-year-long civil war.Earlier this month, people from the Druze community told the BBC they were not only worried about physical attacks but also not being protected by the new government. In recent months, hundreds of people have also been killed from the Alawite minority, a branch of Shia Islam, and worshippers inside a church in Damascus have also been attacked.Western countries have sought to reset relations with Syria. The US took HTS off its list of foreign terrorist organisations this month, while Foreign Secretary David Lammy become the first UK minister to visit Syria since the uprising that led to the country's civil war began 14 years ago.
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
BBC adviser asked ‘is documentary clean of Hamas'? Bosses never bothered to reply
The BBC's Gaza documentary was declared to be 'all clean of Hamas', despite its narrator being the son of a Hamas minister, a report has found. Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was categorised as a 'high risk' project by the BBC, yet was broadcast without crucial questions being answered. A month before the broadcast, an editorial policy adviser at the BBC asked: 'Has due diligence been done on those featured to ensure, e.g. the lead boy doesn't have links in any way to [Hamas]? I'm sure it has…' The question was never answered, but the programme went ahead. Three members of Hoyo Films, the independent production company that made the documentary, knew the narrator's family background but did not tell the BBC about it, the report found. They paid Abdullah Alyazouri's family £795 for his contribution, and also gave him a gift card for a computer game and a second-hand mobile phone, to a total value of £1,817. The day after the documentary was broadcast, it emerged that Abdullah, the 13-year-old narrator, was the son of Ayman Alyazouri, a deputy minister for agriculture in the Hamas-led government. An internal review conducted by Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints, ruled that the documentary breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose 'critical information' about Abdullah's family history. But it cleared the BBC of breaching impartiality guidelines, despite Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, earlier saying that the row was a 'dagger to the heart' of the broadcaster's reputation for impartiality. Ofcom announced that it was launching an investigation into the BBC 'under our rule which states that factual programmes must not materially mislead the audience'. Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, apologised for the 'mistake' but refused to say whether anyone would face the sack. She viewed the documentary at a special screening ahead of its television broadcast, but defended her role. She said: 'I didn't know then what I know now.' 'Unflinching' documentary Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone was billed as an 'unflinching' documentary narrated by Abdullah, a Palestinian boy living in the so-called 'safe zone'. It was broadcast on Feb 17. 'My name is Abdullah. I'm 13 years old. I'm stuck here in Gaza. Have you ever wondered what you'd do if your world was destroyed?' he asks, leading viewers through the rubble. He explains that he attended 'the best school in Gaza, the British school' but now lives in a tent. Other children featured in the film include Renad, a young girl who presents a TikTok cookery show, and Zakaria, an 11-year-old who works as a fixer at one of Gaza's hospitals. The documentary includes scenes from inside the hospital, including a doctor in an operating theatre holding up a severed arm and shouting: 'Look what the Israelis are doing to the children of Gaza.' Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash, the film's two directors, remotely directed two Gazan cameramen, as Israel does not allow foreign journalists to operate inside Gaza. What the filmmakers knew Hoyo Films, the production company engaged by the BBC, spotted Abdullah on Channel 4 in April 2024 and approached him to become a contributor. Two months later, they submitted a 'taster' tape to the BBC in which he appeared prominently. By July, three members of the production company – the director, the co-director and one crew member in Gaza – had become aware that Abdullah's father was Ayman Alyazouri, according to the report. They met the father in August to gain permission to film Abdullah. But Hoyo did not at any stage share Abdullah's family background with the BBC. Interviewed for the report, they claimed to have reached a view that Abdullah's father was in 'a civilian or technocratic position', rather than a political or military one. This was supported by the fact that, when they met him, Mr Alyazouri was moving openly around Gaza and not taking security precautions. In addition, the Gazan civil government – other than the health ministry – had not been functioning since 2023, so they considered him to be 'no longer in employment'. The report noted: 'The production company was also under the impression, whether rightly or wrongly, that there was a clear distinction between officials and ministers working for the Gazan civil government and Hamas.' BBC failures The BBC identified early on in the production that the documentary carried 'reputational risk' and a 'due impartiality challenge', adding it to the internal managed risk programme list. One of the commissioning editors sought advice from BBC colleagues who identified the need for due diligence and background checks on the contributors and crew, including potential links or affiliations to Hamas. The editorial policy unit was consulted for advice, and provided notes. One adviser from the unit asked on Dec 19 last year: 'I presume we have checked out the bona fides of the people we use?' On Jan 8, a BBC commissioning editor sent a WhatsApp to Hoyo asking if there was a paper trail on the background checking of contributors. Hoyo replied: 'No – we did a social media check with those that are online and [a] check with local community members – all clean of Hamas.' On Jan 12, they asked: 'Has due diligence been done on those featured to ensure e.g. the lead boy doesn't have links in any way to [Hamas]? I'm sure it has…' And on Jan 15, a note from a member of the BBC commissioning team asked if anyone had checked Abdullah's family background. But at a zoom meeting on Jan 22 to address any outstanding issues, these last two questions were not answered. The report found that the production company carried most of the responsibility for the failure to inform the BBC but that it did not intentionally mislead the broadcaster. However, it added that putting Abdullah forward as the narrator – given his background – was wrong. But it also said the BBC 'bears some responsibility', first for being 'insufficiently proactive' in failing to scrutinise the role of the narrator at an early stage, and then for its 'lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions'. The BBC should not have signed off on the film without having the answer to every question, the report concluded. Narrator's payment Abdullah's adult sister was paid a £795 'disturbance fee' for his participation in the programme, while Abdullah was given a second-hand mobile phone and a gift card for a computer game – together, this amounted to a total value of £1,817. The production company said the money was intended for Abdullah's mother, as his legal guardian, but was paid via the sister as the mother did not have a Bank of Palestine account. In his report, Mr Johnston concluded: 'I do not consider the amount or purpose of any of these payments to have been outside of the range of what might be reasonable.' The fallout Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, previously asked why nobody had been fired over the documentary, although her language on Monday was noticeably calmer. Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, said he was sorry for the 'significant failing' in relation to accuracy. Ofcom launched its own investigation into whether audiences were misled. The BBC promised 'accountability' but Ms Turness refused to be drawn on whether anyone would lose their job over the mistakes. She apologised for the error but sought to blame Hoyo Films, saying: 'The questions should have been answered by the independent production company at the many times of asking.' As for the future of the documentary, it may be re-edited into shorter films that could be made available on iPlayer.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Newscast What Went Wrong With The BBC Gaza Documentary?
Today, we discuss the findings of a BBC report which found that the documentary Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone had breached editorial guidelines. The BBC previously pulled the documentary from iPlayer after it was uncovered that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The report says the production company Hoyo Films bears most of the responsibility for the failures. Hoyo Films said it took the reviews findings "extremely seriously" and said it "apologises for the mistake that resulted in a breach of the editorial guidelines". Another report looking into BBC show MasterChef has found that 45 allegations against presenter Gregg Wallace have been upheld. Wallace said in response that some of his humour and language "missed the mark", but added: "I never set out to harm or humiliate. I always tried to bring warmth and support to MasterChef, on screen and off." Adam is joined by BBC News Culture and Media editor Katie Razzall and Culture reporter Noor Nanji. And, President Trump has threatened 'very severe' tariffs against Russia if there is no Ukraine deal within 50 days. Adam speaks to Caitriona Perry, Chief Presenter for BBC News. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast'. It works on most smart speakers. To get your tickets for Newscast live in Edinburgh - You can join our Newscast online community here: Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@ or send us a whatsapp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Shiler Mahmoudi and Anna Harris. The social producers were Jada Meosa John . The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Gaza father's outrage after Israeli strike kills son 'searching for a sip'
Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Ahmed says his son, Abdullah, was "searching for a sip of water" when he took the family's jerrycans on Sunday morning and headed as usual to one of the water distribution points in the urban Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza."That area was inhabited by displaced people, others who were exhausted by the war, and those who have seen the worst due to the imposed siege and limitations, and the ongoing aggression," Mahmoud said in an interview with a local journalist working for the BBC."The children, Abdullah among them, stood in a queue with empty stomachs, empty jerrycans, and thirsty lips," he added."Minutes after the children and thirsty people of the camp gathered, the warplanes bombed those children and the water distribution point, without prior notice." Graphic video filmed by another local journalist and verified by the BBC showed the immediate aftermath of the Israeli strike on a street in the New Camp area of passes two men carrying young children before coming across a destroyed structure, beneath which dozens of yellow plastic jerrycans are scream as bystanders pull a man from the rubble, while others try to help another man covered in blood. Other adults and children are seen lying motionless hospital in Nuseirat said 10 people, including six children, were killed in the strike, and that 16 others were injured. Along with Abdullah, they named the children who died as Badr al-Din Qaraman, Siraj Khaled Ibrahim, Ibrahim Ashraf Abu Urayban, Karam Ashraf al-Ghussein and Lana Ashraf al-Ghussein. When asked about the strike, the Israeli military said it had targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad "terrorist" but that "as a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target".The military said it was "aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area as a result" and "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians", adding: "The incident is under review."However, Mahmoud claimed that Israel "intended to convey a message: it won't allow people to drink even the drinking water that they crave."He also lamented that dreams of Abdullah and the other children would never be realised."They were looking at reality with the hope of it changing, and of becoming like the other children of the world - practicing their normal role of playing, moving, traveling, eating, drinking, and living in safety," he said. The UN says water shortages in Gaza are worsening due to the lack of fuel and spare parts for desalination, pumping and sanitation facilities, as well as insecurity and inaccessibility due to Israeli military operations against Hamas and evacuation a result, many people are receiving less than the emergency standard of 15 litres per day, amounting to what the UN calls "a human-made drought crisis"."You see children queuing up, by the side of the road, with yellow jerrycans every single morning, waiting for the daily water truck to come and get their five litres [or] 10 litres, of water used for washing, cleaning, cooking, drinking, etc," Sam Rose, the acting Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), told the BBC."Every death is a tragedy. This one is particularly emblematic, given the circumstances in which it took place. But it's one of many," he Thursday, 10 children and three women were killed as they waited for nutritional supplements outside a clinic in the nearby town of Deir Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas "terrorist" nearby and, as with Sunday's incident, that it regretted harming any civilians."We focus on these incidents, but of course these weren't the only children killed in Gaza [on Sunday]," Rose said. "Every single day, since the start of the war, on average of classroom full of children have been killed."The executive director of the UN children's agency (Unicef), Catherine Russell, meanwhile called both incidents "horrific" and demanded that Israeli authorities "urgently review the rules of engagement and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law". Later this week, the UN Security Council will convene to discuss the situation of children in Gaza, following a request by the Israel's permanent representative Danny Danon said council members would be "better served to apply pressure on Hamas for prolonging this conflict"."The children in Gaza are victims of Hamas, not Israel. Hamas is using them as human shields and the UN is silent," he said it was Israel which should be pressured to end the war."We have no power and no strength. We are victims. We are civilians just like other people in the world, and we don't own any nuclear weapons or arms or anything," he added."This war needs to stop, and so does the ongoing massacre happening in the Gaza Strip."
