29 April 2024 – Reporting Gaza: My War is a moving film by BBC Arabic’s Gaza correspondent, Adnan El-Bursh, who documents his experience of the Israel-Gaza war, as he juggles reporting to audiences around the world while fighting to keep his family safe.

In a series of video diaries, El-Bursh reveals his harrowing journey as he flees his home in Jabalia, and evacuates the BBC’s Gaza City office, to report from a makeshift tent in Khan Younis.

The film portrays stark realities, such as the wrenching experience of sleeping in the street with his wife and children while drones hover overhead, and the raw vulnerability of breaking down while on-air.

Amid relentless Israeli bombardment, supply shortages and communication blackouts, Gazan journalists face extraordinary risks daily. According to Reporters Without Borders, over 100 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war, 22 of whom were killed during the course of their work.

Unveiling previously unseen footage, the film captures the raw emotions and untold stories of BBC Arabic’s team as they navigate their personal lives and journalism in their war-ravaged homeland.

Also at the event, hosted by BBC News Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet, BBC News Pashto and BBC News Dari premiered exclusive footage from an upcoming documentary which chronicles the making of Dars and women’s underground fight for education. Dars is an educational programme which launched in 2023 and is for children in Afghanistan who are banned from school.

Dars, which airs four times a day Saturday to Friday, is hosted by BBC Afghan female journalists who were evacuated from Kabul during the 2021 Taliban takeover, and now operate from the BBC’s London studios, providing a vital service for millions of girls barred from school in their home country.

Fiona Crack, Co-Controller, BBC World Service Languages, says: “These events illustrate the BBC World Service’s pivotal role as a truly global public service. From courageous frontline reporting to launching lifeline services, our content serves some of the hardest audiences to reach across the world, at a time when they most need trusted impartial news the most.

“It is a privilege to bring Reporting Gaza: My War to audiences. It is a powerful film from experienced journalist Adnan El-Bursh which uses his courageous reporting to portray a unique insight into the reality of being a journalist in the Gaza Strip.”