The Pat Kenny Show Ben de Pear on the normalisation of war crimes
Mar 28, 2026
Ben de Pear, BAFTA-, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary producer known for Gaza films like For Sama, discusses the normalisation of war crimes. He talks about alleged impunity for strikes, patterns of attacks on hospitals and medical staff, media choices and censorship, and how historical narratives shape accountability. Short, sharp and unflinching.
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Erosion Of International Law Enables Impunity
- International law and scrutiny have weakened since 2003, allowing major powers to act with less accountability.
- Ben de Pear links this decline to Iraq and Afghanistan wars and says reporting rarely frames hospital strikes explicitly as war crimes anymore.
Documentary Findings On Hospitals And Medics
- Ben de Pear recounts making Gaza: Doctors Under Attack and investigating 36 hospitals and around 1,700 medics killed or detained.
- His team found little evidence Hamas operated inside these hospitals and documented forced evacuations, detentions and torture of staff.
News Priorities Sideline Civilian Suffering
- Media focus has shifted to Western interests like Gulf attacks and oil prices, which sidelines civilian deaths and infrastructure damage.
- Ben de Pear argues that reporting prioritises threats to Westerners and economic impacts over potential war crimes.