BBC, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack BAFTAs Drama Explained
by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m an innately nosey and chronically online celebrity and pop culture journalist, with my specialist areas including deep-diving lyrics and calling out Terrible Men™.
This article mentions allegations of sexual assault and war crimes.
A documentary maker directly called out the BBC while accepting a BAFTA television award for Gaza: Doctors Under Attack — which the BBC refused to air despite commissioning.
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The documentary is an investigation into the Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system and healthcare workers, as well as the treatment of detained healthcare workers both inside Gaza and within Israeli prisons.
Basement Films / Channel 4 / Via youtube.com
For reference, in September 2025, a two-year United Nations investigation concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry stated that Israel has “flagrantly disregarded” international law and “orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years.”
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Before that, in November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The allegations included using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, intentionally directing attacks at civilians, and deprivation of essential goods like food, water, medical supplies, and electricity in Gaza.
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Amid this, reports of torture, rape, and psychological abuse of Palestinian healthcare workers have been verified by the UN. In a 2024 report by Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), healthcare workers detained in Israeli detention facilities testified that they had been electrocuted, hung from ceilings by their arms, sexually assaulted, and had their genitals mutilated.
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In 2024, the BBC commissioned Gaza: Doctors Under Attack from the independent production company Basement Films, but they delayed airing the finished product before announcing that it would not be shown due to “impartiality” concerns. The documentary was then picked up by another British network, Channel 4, and aired to critical acclaim.
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At the time, Channel 4’s head of news, Louisa Compton, said: “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.” You can watch the trailer for it here:
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Basement Films / Channel 4 / Via youtube.com
And when it won the Current Affairs BAFTA on Sunday night, the documentary makers did not shy away from calling out the BBC as they dared the corporation to censor their speech. For the record, the ceremony was broadcast on the BBC two hours after it took place.
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Per multiple news sources, including the Independent, journalist Ramita Navia kicked off the speech by saying: “Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza. So far, Israel has bombed and targeted every single one of Gaza’s hospitals. It’s killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and health care workers. It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls the medicide.”
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“These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show, but we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film,” she went on. “Right now, there are over 80 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers being held in detention centers that Israeli human rights groups describe as torture camps. We dedicate this award to them.”
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Filmmaker Ben de Pear then pointedly asked: “Finally, just a question for the BBC: given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the BAFTA screening later tonight?”
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Interestingly, the BBC did air Ben's question as part of a condensed montage of awards presented earlier in the show. However, Ramita’s comments about Israel killing over 47,000 children and women in Gaza, as well as her remark that there are over 80 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers being held in detention centers did not make it to broadcast.
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In a statement issued last June, the BBC said that they decided to shelve the film as they are “determined to report all aspects of the conflict in the Middle East impartially and fairly.” This statement came just months after more than 100 BBC staff and hundreds of other media professionals signed a letter accusing the broadcaster of failing to hold Israel to account and dehumanizing portrayals of Palestinians.
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The letter was published by the Indep