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Abdullah al-Yazouri, the 14-year-old narrator of Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, has spoken up after the BBC removed the documentary and apologised for “serious flaws” in it after backlash from pro-Israel groups.

“I’ve been working for over nine months on this documentary for it to just get wiped and deleted… it was very sad to me,” Yazouri, who had spent around 60 hours obtaining footage for the docu-film, told Middle East Eye.

“It was pretty disappointing and sad to see this backlash against me and my family, and this harassment,” he said. “Some, let’s say, anonymous people, tried to hide the true suffering of Gaza’s children by attacking me and my family — cyberbullying, harassment, all kinds of things. Stalking too. I did not agree to the risk of me being targeted in any shape,” he said,

Yazouri told MEE that the whole ordeal has caused him serious “mental pressure” and made him fear for his safety. “My message to the BBC [is if] anything happens to me, BBC is responsible for it.”

Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone initially aired on BBC Two on February 17. It featured Yazouri chronicling his life in Gaza. The BBC removed the documentary from its streaming service following pressure from British officials, pro-Israel groups, and media figures over the fact that Yazouri’s father is a deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza’s government.

The broadcaster later apologised, saying it had only learned of his family connection after the documentary aired.

In response, over 1,000 people — including prominent actors, directors, and journalists — signed an open letter urging the broadcaster to halt the “censorship on Palestine.”

Yazouri said he found out that the documentary had been pulled after watching the news and that the channel did not bother sending him a message of regret. “No, I received no apology from the BBC,” he said.

Though the BBC has been accused of broadcasting ‘Hamas propaganda’ through the short-lived documentary, there has been no evidence of Hamas influence on the film’s content. Yazouri also said his narration was scripted by the production company commissioned for the documentary without input from his father.

“The story for Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone is pretty simple, the cameraman had initially reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to contribute to it and I accepted,” he said.

“I played two roles in the documentary, I was a character at first and then the narrator. The director had guided me to the lines that I had spoken. And no, my parents weren’t involved in any of the lines that I had spoken. I was very impartial in this film. I did not add or take away anything. The script I read was provided by the production company.”

Disappointed to see what he had worked on with love to be received with hate, Yazouri said, “Children in Gaza do not have access to education in this war. Many of their rights have been taken from them during this genocide, including their right to food. I hope that the documentary can be broadcast again.”

The BBC confirmed last week that the film’s production company, Hoyo Films, had paid the Yazouri family a “limited sum of money for the narration.”

The teenager said he had not received financial remuneration for the documentary beyond money to cover its expenses. He assured, “In the contract that was signed between the production company…and my mother, there wasn’t any payment for me or my family. However, I had $1,000 transferred to my sister’s account, which was for personal spending, nothing else.

“I thank all of those in the UK who supported me, the documentary, and protested for it to be restored, and continue your efforts that hopefully can and will return the movie up on BBC,” he added.

Yazouri also shared that he wishes to study journalism in the UK.

After pulling the documentary, the BBC claimed that the film’s producers had failed to disclose information about Yazouri’s family before it aired. However, the open letter, published by Artists for Palestine UK, argues that linking a civil service role in agriculture to terrorism is “factually incorrect and dehumanising.”