LONDON (Dispatches) – More than 600 prominent figures from the film, media and cultural industries criticized the BBC’s “bias in reporting,” urging the British broadcaster to air a delayed Gaza documentary on the plight of medics in Gaza, Anadolu reports.
The open letter, addressed to BBC Director-General Tim Davie, calls for the release of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which documents the experiences of Palestinian health workers operating under Israeli bombardment.
Signatories include Oscar-winning U.S. actor Susan Sarandon, comedian Frankie Boyle, and Lindsey Hilsum, an English television journalist and writer.
According to the letter, 130 anonymous individuals also signed, including more than a dozen BBC staffers.
“We write to you again with deep concern about the censorship of Palestinian voices – this time, medics operating in unimaginable conditions in Gaza,” said the letter.
The signatories accused the BBC of “demonstrating bias” in its reporting on Gaza and expressed concern about the broadcaster’s “balance and impartiality.”
“It has repeatedly delayed the broadcast of Gaza: Medics Under Fire, a documentary made by Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmakers, including Ben de Pear, Karim Shah and Ramita Navai,” the letter said.
The documentary details attacks on Palestinian health workers and hospitals in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks which have killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023.
In a statement, Health Workers 4 Palestine said: “The health workers featured in this documentary have witnessed countless colleagues being killed, and have risked their lives not only to care for their patients, but to document and expose the relentless targeting by Israel of healthcare infrastructure and personnel.”
Expressing solidarity with the medics of Gaza “whose voices are being silenced,” the group said that their stories are being “buried by bureaucracy and political censorship.”
“If the voices of Palestinian doctors aren’t considered credible – just as the voices of Palestinian children were previously dismissed – then whose voices does the BBC consider legitimate?” the group asked.