Gaza documentary dropped by BBC to air on Channel 4

The United Kingdom’s Channel 4 has announced it will air a documentary on the plight of medics in Gaza after the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which originally commissioned the work, opted not to air it.

The BBC commissioned Basement Films to make Gaza: Doctors Under Attack but decided not to run it, citing concerns it might create “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect,” according to a report by The Independent.

The BBC had delayed airing it, pending a review and discussions with Basement Films – talks that ultimately led to an impasse. The producers have since worked with Channel 4 on final fact-checks, and the documentary, which follows front-line health workers in Gaza amid attacks on hospitals, will air on July 2 at 10 pm GMT.

Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs and specialist factual and sport, said she felt strongly that the film should be aired. “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,” she said.

As for the BBC, this is just its latest Gaza-related controversy, as the broadcaster has faced repeated accusations of bias and pro-Israeli coverage. The United Kingdom’s official media watchdog, Ofcom, issued a public letter to the BBC earlier this year voicing its concerns over a lack of impartiality related to another programme covering Gaza. It warned that it would be keeping a close eye on the broadcaster’s future coverage.

EXCLUSIVE: Zeteo Acquiring Film About Gaza Doctors That BBC Refused to Air

https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-zeteo-acquiring-film-about


_{General view of the Sheikh Redwan Health Center affiliated with UNRWA, a large part of which was destroyed during the attacks targeted by Israel in Gaza City on February 21, 2025}

Zeteo is pleased to announce that we are acquiring and will be releasing globally the Gaza medics documentary produced by Basement Films ‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.’ The documentary was originally set to be released by the BBC, until it decided to reverse course amid a company review of a separate Gaza documentary and after several high-profile delays, it dropped it.

The film tells the testimony of Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers treating patients in Gaza and how they tried to do their work and survive amidst Israel’s military attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers (a breach of international law).

In May, over 600 hundred members of the film industry – including Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and British filmmaker Mike Leigh – signed an open letter criticizing the BBC for delaying the release of the film, accusing them of censoring Palestinian voices.

Support for Palestine under scrutiny at UK’s Glastonbury Festival

There were instances of pro-Palestine chants and slogans at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK – but not without controversy.

Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, led crowds in chants of: “Free, free Palestine” and: “Death, death to the [Israeli army]”.

Vylan’s chants caused a stir and authorities are saying they will investigate whether any offences may have been committed.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan’s performance, a government spokesperson said.

They added, “We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.”

A BBC spokesperson called some of the comments “deeply offensive”.

Northern Irish band Nikaab also performed at the festival, accusing Israel of war crimes, while Palestinian flags were waved among the audience.

Meanwhile, Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a London gig.

In reference to his bandmate’s upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support for Palestine”.

“We wanna thank Glastonbury for standing by Kneecap, for standing for Palestine, for standing for the f*cking truth” @KNEECAPCEOL 🗣️ #Glastonbury2025 pic.twitter.com/uzZ6Tij0Hf

— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) June 28, 2025

Huge support for Palestine Action at Glastonbury

Activists from Palestine Action got a great reception on Thursday night at Glastonbury as they addressed the crowd on the Shangri La stage, showing the huge support the group have around the festival. The group have been declared a "terrorist organisation" by the government - which means that anyone who is a member of Palestine Action, or even shows support for them, could face up to 14 years in prison.

Judging by the amount of people who have already signed up to join Palestine Action at the festival, this appalling attack on our right to protest could seriously backfire. You can join too at https://palestineaction.org/join.

Activists also drew attention to the fact that Glastonbury is insured by Allianz, a company that also insures Elbit Systems - who supply weapons used in the Gaza genocide - invests in Serco, the leading abuser of migrants in the UK, and is the world's sixth largest insurer of fossil fuel companies. There is now a rapidly growing campaign calling on Glastonbury to boycott Allianz - you can sign the open letter at https://boycottbloodyinsurance.org.

Today’s death toll in Gaza rises

Sources at hospitals in the Strip say that at least 60 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the early hours of this morning.

In today’s most horrific attack, at least 20 people were killed, including nine children, when Israel bombed a residential block in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood.


_{Palestinians travelling on a route known as the ‘road of death’ to receive food parcels from the aid points despite intense Israeli shelling and the threat of snipers in Khan Younis, Gaza}

Casualties after Israeli attack on Khan Younis

Sources at Nasser Hospital report that four people, including a child and two women, were killed by Israeli drone fire that targeted a tent housing displaced people in the west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Our team on the ground reports that Israel is currently carrying out a massive bombing campaign in the city.

‘All I could see was shooting and killing and relocation’

The Times has published an article which includes excerpts from interviews with Israeli reservists who have refused to serve in Gaza.

Captain Ron Feiner said he has refused to serve because he was “appalled by the never-ending war in Gaza, the neglect of the hostages and the relentless death of innocents”.

Yuval Ben Ari, a social worker in Haifa, had been enthusiastic about serving after the war, but after being sent to Rafah at the end of 2024, he told the Times he was “completely shocked”.

“Everything was completely destroyed. This was a school, that was a university … Yet after a while, it becomes your normal,” he is quoted as saying.

“All I could see was shooting and killing and relocation, so 2 million people are now in less than 20 percent of Gaza and constantly being moved from place to place. The Israeli army doesn’t look at them as humans any more, just waiting for them to die,” he told The Times.

Best to avoid Germany having to hand over an Israeli leader to the ICC, president warns

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned against Netanyahu’s arrival in Germany, saying Berlin should “avoid testing” international law given the arrest warrant issued against the prime minister by the International Criminal Court.

“We, in particular, should make the international legal order part of our own identity,” Steinmeier said in the Interview of the Week programme to be broadcast on Sunday by radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, of which DPA, Germany’s press agency, obtained a copy.

Steinmeier said it would be best to avoid being put in a position where Germany would have to hand over an Israeli leader to the ICC.

His comments came in response to a question about Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement that Germany would not recognise the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel’s war on Gaza.

Germany is complicit regardless. Merz should be brought before the ICC as well.



Another painful reminder of US' failure in Afghanistan

Nowhere to run: The Afghan refugees caught in Israel’s war on Iran

On Friday, June 13, when Israeli missiles began raining down on Tehran, Shamsi was reminded once again just how vulnerable she and her family are.

The 34-year-old Afghan mother of two was working at her sewing job in north Tehran. In a state of panic and fear, she rushed back home to find her daughters, aged five and seven, huddled beneath a table in horror.

Shamsi fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan just a year ago, hoping Iran would offer safety. Now, undocumented and terrified, she finds herself caught in yet another dangerous situation – this time with no shelter, no status, and no way out.

“I escaped the Taliban, but bombs were raining over our heads here,” Shamsi told Al Jazeera from her home in northern Tehran, asking to be referred to by her first name only, for security reasons. “We came here for safety, but we didn’t know where to go.”

_{‘Mission Accomplished’ was a massive fail — but it was just the beginning, May 1, 2003}

Sure that was about Iraq, after failing in Afghanistan.

Main events on June 28th

• Israel continued its attacks across the Gaza Strip, including an attack that killed at least 20 people, including nine children, in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood.
• The Israeli army claimed to have killed a senior Hamas figure, Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa, in fighting in Gaza City.
• At least 13 Palestinian athletes were killed by Israeli attacks in June, said the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
• Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, affiliated with the country’s Ministry of Public Health, said in a statement that an Israeli attack on a motorcycle in the village of Mahrouna killed two people, including a woman.

Gaza faces humanitarian collapse under Israeli blockade

Since the March 2 blockade, Gaza has received few aid deliveries. Community kitchens are shutting down due to a lack of fuel and supplies, leaving families—especially the displaced—with no food. Many risk their lives to seek basic aid. With borders sealed and aid systems failing, famine in Gaza is no longer a threat—it’s a reality. Abdalwahab Hamed reports from Gaza.

Qatar busts Trump’s claims on Iran-Israel ceasefire; airbase attack main reason?

In a big revelation, a top official from the Qatari government has busted the claims made by Donald Trump on Iran-Israel ceasefire. Rifat Jawaid explains that the statement made by the adviser to the Qatari prime minister suggests that Trump was simply too scared of Iranian missile attacks on other US military bases in the Middle East. Meanwhile, situation in Gaza continues to be grim even as Trump promising to achieve a ceasefire within a week.

Death toll from Israeli attack on Iran prison at least 71: Official

Israel’s attack on Evin prison in Iran’s capital, Tehran, killed 71 people last week, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir says.

“In the attack on Evin prison, 71 people were martyred, including administrative staff, youth doing their military service, detainees, family members of detainees who were visiting them and neighbours who lived in the prison’s vicinity,” Jahangir said in remarks published on the judiciary’s news outlet, Mizan.

He said Israeli forces attacked a hall where several family members were visiting prisoners.

UN human rights spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan said last week that attacking the prison was “a grave breach of international humanitarian law”, without naming Israel.


_{Israel struck the Evin Prison on June 23}

Images shared by Iran’s judiciary showed destroyed walls, collapsed ceilings, scattered debris, and broken surfaces across waiting areas at the facility. Evin’s medical centre and visiting rooms had been targeted, the judiciary said.

Iran had previously not announced any death figures. It confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar, whose prosecution of dissidents drew condemnation from human rights campaigners, was killed in the attack and would be buried at a shrine in Qom.

Prisoners held at Evin have included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi as well as several French nationals and other foreigners.

UN nuclear watchdog: Iran could enrich uranium in ‘months’

Iran could resume enriching uranium within months, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi says.

“The capacities they have are there. They can have – in a matter of months, I would say – a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium,” Grossi said in a CBS News interview broadcast on Sunday.

The extent of damage caused by last week’s US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities remains unclear. President Trump has maintained that the US bombings set Iran’s nuclear programme back by “years”.

But Grossi told CBS, “Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”

The IAEA is primarily interested in locating enriched uranium in Iran, he said, adding the UN agency has for years been asking why it found traces of enriched uranium in various places. “And we were simply not getting credible answers. If there was material – where is this material? So, there could be even more. We don’t know.”

German minister praises Israel’s surprise attack on Iran

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has offered unqualified support for Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities during an unexpected visit to Tel Aviv.

“Iran has been destabilising this region for years, for decades, one has to say, with its support for terrorist groups to the north, to the south, to the east of Israel,” he said on the first visit by a senior German politician since Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

The Iranian nuclear programme is “a real threat to Israel’s right to exist and also a threat well beyond, a threat for Europe as well”, Dobrindt said.

Tehran has been sent a clear signal that Israel, the US and other supporters such as Germany cannot accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, he added. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes.

Dobrindt made the comments while visiting the site of a deadly Iranian missile strike in the city of Holon with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

He described the attack as a “war on the civilian population” and expressed the conviction that Iran would use any nuclear bomb it developed against Israel.

Germany never changes... Just now Israelis are the Übermensch and over 600 Iranian lives lost, nearly 5,000 wounded means nothing. 28 Israeli lives lost in counter strikes is terrible as well, but have some perspective. 

Germany seeks to partner with Israel on cyber-defence

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt says Germany is hoping to set up a joint cyber-research centre with Israel amid efforts to boost intelligence and security cooperation.

“Military defence alone is not sufficient for this turning point in security,” Dobrindt was quoted as saying by Germany’s Bild newspaper during a visit to Israel. “A significant upgrade in civil defence is also essential to strengthen our overall defensive capabilities.”

Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, has increasingly looked to draw upon Israel’s defence expertise.

Last year, Germany was brought before the International Court of Justice over its arms exports to Israel, but The Hague-based court declined to impose emergency measures halting the transfers.

German police use force at pro-Palestine march in Berlin

Footage shared online by activists shows heated exchanges and violence between German police and pro-Palestine demonstrators in Berlin yesterday.

The footage, verified by Al Jazeera, shows police using force against a large group of protesters, including a 13-year-old boy and a veiled woman. In one video, officers confronted the child as he held up his scarf.

The video below shows police forcibly detaining a woman, causing her veil to be removed.

Iran asks UN to name US, Israel as ‘aggressors’ in 12-day war

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has written a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asking the UN to formally recognise the US and Israel as the “initiators of the act of aggression” in the latest conflict.

The letter also called on the UN to acknowledge the two countries’ “subsequent responsibility including the payment of compensation and reparations”.

The war broke out on June 13 when Israel launched major strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, leading to days of deadly attacks between the two nations. The US directly joined the fray on June 21, carrying out its own strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran’s military chief questions Israel’s commitment to ceasefire

Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, says Iran has serious “doubts” about Israel’s commitment to the ongoing ceasefire, arguing that Israel has proven it does not respect international norms.

“Since we have complete doubts about the enemy’s [Israel’s] adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a strong response if it repeats the aggression,” Mousavi said in a call with Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

‘Growing number of people’ in Iran demanding a nuclear bomb

Iranian affairs analyst Mostafa Khoshcheshm says Iranians are increasingly wanting the government to build a nuclear weapon after the Israeli-US attacks earlier this month.

Anger among Iranians is rising at the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency after it said Iran failed to comply with its obligations under a nuclear pact, and Israel attacked the country a day later.

“I’ve been hearing increasing voices in Tehran from among the public demanding a nuclear bomb from the Islamic Republic,” Khoshcheshm told Al Jazeera.

He noted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decree that the country will not pursue atomic arms. Khamenei, who has the final say on the matter, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious edict, in the early 2000s, saying it is “haram”, or forbidden, in Islam.

“Still, there are a growing number of people demanding the Islamic Republic to make a bomb in order to protect their security,” said Khoshcheshm.

Iran asks Azerbaijan if Israeli drones used its airspace for attacks

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, to investigate whether Israeli drones were flown into Iranian territory from Azerbaijan during the recent conflict.

“We have received information that a small number of drones have flown into Iranian territory from the territory of neighbouring countries,” said Mehdi Sobhani, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia.

“Therefore, during a telephone conversation between the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, our president asked Aliyev to conduct a serious investigation into this matter. We will await the results of this investigation.”

Sobhani said information about the incident was provided by Iranian intelligence, according to the ISNA news agency.

Former PM Bennett says Netanyahu ‘must go’

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it is “too much” and “not healthy” that Netanyahu “has been in power for 20 years”.

“He bears … heavy responsibility for the divisions in Israeli society,” Bennett said in the interview that aired on Saturday about growing rifts within Israel under Netanyahu, who has a strong support base but also staunch opponents who have demanded his departure, including over his handling of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Netanyahu “must go”, said the former prime minister, a right-wing leader who in 2021 joined forces with Netanyahu critics to form a coalition that ousted him from the premiership after 12 consecutive years at the helm.

But the fragile coalition government Bennett led with current opposition chief Yair Lapid collapsed after about a year. Snap elections ensued, and Netanyahu again assumed the premiership with backing from far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Israeli lawmakers accuse Netanyahu of using Gaza to fight charges

Members of Israel’s Knesset have accused Netanyahu of using the ongoing war on Gaza to secure an end to his corruption trial. “[Netanyahu] is conditioning the future of Israel and our children on his trial,” Naama Lazimi, Knesset member for the Democrats Party, told The Times of Israel.

The Israeli premier showed he is unfit for the office by “trading his indictment in exchange for a political settlement and an end to the war”, she said.

Democrats lawmaker Gilad Kariv denounced the Israeli leader and his circle’s “willingness to play with the national security of the State of Israel and the issue of the hostages in order to save Netanyahu from conviction in court”.

Karine Elharrar, Knesset member from Yesh Atid party, warned that Netanyahu is “acting against the Israeli public interest” by linking his legal fate with captive negotiations and regional normalisation agreements.

Court delays Netanyahu’s testimony in corruption trial

The Times of Israel reports the Jerusalem District Court has postponed Netanyahu’s planned testimony in his corruption trial this week after the Israeli prime minister argued “diplomatic and national security issues” need his attention.

According to Reuters, the ruling said that new reasons provided by Netanyahu, the head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad and the military intelligence chief justified cancelling the hearings.

The decision comes a day after Trump lambasted the trial itself, calling it a “POLITICAL WITCH HUNT” that the US is “not going to stand for”.

Bob Vylan’s anti-Israel chants prompt UK police review


_{Bobby Vylan performs at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England}

British police say they’re examining videos of a band that led chants of “death” to Israel’s military at the Glastonbury Festival.

Rapper Bobby Vylan of the rap punk duo Bob Vylan led festivalgoers on Saturday in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the [Israeli military]”.

The Avon and Somerset Police said it’s aware of comments made by acts at the festival and its officers will review video evidence “to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”.

Festival organisers said on Instagram that Vylan’s chants “very much crossed a line”.

“We are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” they said.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned Bob Vylan’s actions as “appalling”.

But it's fine for Israeli football supporters to chant death to Arabs....

I'm getting really sick of Europe. I wanted to show my kids where I grew up, but I don't want to go back to The Netherlands, nor France, Germany, Italy or the UK again. Still the same old colonial criminals. 

Does Glastonbury represent a new ‘radical force in politics’?

The controversy over musical artists invoking Palestine during performances at the United Kingdom’s Glastonbury Festival reflects the event’s longstanding political character, says George McKay, a media studies professor at the University of East Anglia.

Since the 1980s, Glastonbury has been known for embracing progressive causes – from nuclear disarmament to labour rights, he said. But its ties to mainstream British media, including the BBC and The Guardian, have given it a vast audience – and drawn added scrutiny, McKay told Al Jazeera.

Referencing Kneecap, the Irish-language hip-hop group that led fans in chants of “Free Palestine”, McKay asked: “Are they going to kind of take this on and become a radical force in politics… or is this the high point and then they’re going to crumble under a combination of legal action and a sense that they’ve gone too far and that’s the end of it?

“If it’s the latter, it doesn’t really sort of give you the sense that popular music is going to open up again and have an extraordinary new wave of radical politics,” said McKay, who authored a book on the Glastonbury Festival. “It may well be that the market wins and the politics takes a quieter turn.”