LONDON: The BBC has withdrawn its Gaza documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” from its platforms after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas minister.

The British broadcaster announced on Friday that it had removed the documentary from BBC iPlayer while conducting “further due diligence.”

The film, which first aired on BBC Two on Monday, features 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, the son of Ayman Alyazouri, Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

The BBC said in a statement that while the documentary featured “important stories we think should be told, those of the experiences of children in Gaza, there have been continuing questions raised about the program and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company.

“The program will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place,” it added.

The decision follows accusations that other children in the documentary were pictured alongside Hamas figures. The controversy prompted high-profile figures, including actress Tracy-Ann Oberman and former BBC governor Ruth Deech, to call for its removal.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also said that she would be “discussing” the documentary with the BBC, which issued a statement on Thursday apologizing for omitting the narrator’s family ties to Hamas.

The broadcaster said that it had followed all standard compliance procedures but had not been informed of the connection by the independent producers.

Although the documentary includes Palestinians criticizing Hamas and has been praised for its close-up observational style, mounting pressure led BBC executives to take firmer action.

The decision to pull the film was met with criticism from the International Center of Justice for Palestinians, which accused the broadcaster of caving to political pressure.

“For some, almost any Palestinian perspective appears to be deemed unacceptable,” the group said in a statement.

“In this case, objections have been raised because Abdullah’s father holds a government role in Gaza’s Hamas-run administration. However, this does not negate the child’s lived experience or invalidate his testimony.”