BBC ‘portrayed Palestinian gunmen killed in Gaza as innocent civilians’
Palestinian gunmen killed in Gaza have frequently been portrayed as innocent civilians by the BBC, according to accusations leveled against the broadcaster. Critics claim the BBC has failed to adequately inform its audience that many Palestinians killed in confrontations with Israeli forces were affiliated with militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) has flagged numerous instances in BBC Arabic’s reporting and online articles where the deaths of over 30 Palestinians were allegedly misrepresented. Camera asserts that in nearly 30 reports, BBC Arabic omitted information suggesting the deceased were combatants or members of terrorist organizations, despite Palestinian media referencing “armed confrontations” and militant groups identifying some casualties as their fighters.
One example cited by Camera involved a BBC Arabic report last October about five men “killed by Israeli fire” in Jenin and Yata. According to Camera, the report failed to include Palestinian sources indicating that three of the men were gunmen. In another case, the deaths of four brothers in May were covered without acknowledging their links to Hamas, even though two were buried in Hamas flags and the group had publicly claimed them as its “martyrs.”
Camera's findings also highlight discrepancies in BBC Arabic’s coverage of Jewish casualties. During 18 months ending in August, the organization identified 18 instances where attacks on Jewish civilians were either not reported or mischaracterized. In several cases, civilian victims were described as “soldiers” or “armed forces,” while attacks that killed them were labeled “resistance operations.” For example, after the October 7 Hamas attacks, a BBC Arabic report described all 24 Israeli fatalities in the West Bank as “soldiers,” despite more than a third being civilians.
The organization also criticized the language used to describe Israeli civilian hostages taken by Hamas, referring to them as “prisoners of war,” and the characterization of Jewish victims as “settlers,” even when they lived within Israel’s internationally recognized borders.
A spokesman for Camera told The Telegraph: “A troubling trend in BBC Arabic’s reporting is the selective use of Palestinian militant group statements. These are often quoted when the groups claim civilian casualties but ignored when they identify fatalities as combatants. This results in a skewed narrative, where even fatalities acknowledged by both Hamas and Israel as fighters are misrepresented as civilians. Conversely, unarmed Jewish civilians are frequently mislabeled as ‘soldiers’ or ‘militants.’”
In response, the BBC has defended its reporting. A spokesperson stated: “BBC News Arabic is committed to impartial coverage of this complex and polarizing conflict. Our executive complaints unit assessed camera’s complaint regarding the May 15 report and was not upheld. A separate complaint about an October 4 report is still under review. The BBC takes all complaints seriously and has a robust complaints process in place.”
