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Sky News criticised after platforming ‘Gaza flood’ extremist
Moataz Azaiza's inflammatory statements, as revealed last year, led to a popular children's YouTuber removing a video collaboration with him
Sky News has been criticised after one of its leading presenters carried out an interview with a Palestinian activist who previously said that “a single Palestinian is more important than a thousand Israeli[s]” and posted in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that he “didn’t want a beautiful mourning from you, nor to mention his effects in written poems. He wanted you in the field: were you in the field?”
On Thursday, Yalda Hakim, the lead world news presenter for the UK TV channel, conducted an interview with “Palestinian photojournalist Moataz Azaiza”, discussing the formulation of Donald Trump’s Gaza Executive Board.
Last year, as reported by Jewish News at the time, popular children’s YouTube entertainer Ms Rachel withdrew a video she had created with Azaiza, a former UNRWA employee after his previous comments had come to light.
Furthermore, the official Sky News Twitter account shared the video of the interview, along with the Twitter handle of an account it linked to Azaiza titled “Gaza Flood”, which was set up in October 2023. “Al Aqsa Flood” was the name Hamas gave to its mass terror attack on 7 October 2023, in which it murdered 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostage.
Alex Gandler, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in the UK, responded on social media by describing the channel interviewing Azaiza “without disclosing his previous statements” as “a new low”, calling on both the channel and Hakim herself to apologise.
Sky News subsequently deleted their tweet promoting the interview. However, this is not the first time that the channel – and Hakim herself – have interviewed Azaiza. A May 2025 interview with him – again, tagging the “Gaza flood” Twitter account – is still visible on the Sky News Twitter account.
The channel had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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