BBC Issues Apology for Reporting Hamas’s ‘Summary Executions’ Claim

Protesters join a gathering outside the headquarters of the BBC in London on Oct. 16, 2023 (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

The BBC has apologised for not making “sufficient effort” in corroborating a claim by Hamas about the deaths of 137 Palestinian civilians.

The story that prompted an apology by the broadcaster was based on a dispatch by the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The AFP report indicated that the IDF buried the Palestinian civilians in a pit in northern Gaza. AFP’s report mentioned that the agency was unable to independently verify the allegations.

The story was then reported by the BBC in the end of last year more than once, via the broadcaster’s radio services.

The apology for the Christmas Eve report, which had aired on BBC World Service and Radio 4, was then published on the BBC website.

It said that its story “contained a response from the Israeli military saying they were unaware of the incident and that Hamas was a terrorist organisation that did not value truth.”

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The broadcaster went on to acknowledge that it “had not made sufficient effort to seek corroborating evidence to justify reporting the Hamas claim.”

A Times article, published on Tuesday, cited comments by the BBC employees who reacted to the issued apology.

“Unless this apology is public and broadcast in the same arena as the original mistake, the damage is done,” said a Jewish employee, quoted by the Times.

Another staff member was reported to say: “They have taken the Hamas line—a terror organisation—at face value, far too much since October 7. And nothing has changed. And again it’s an apology about a very serious accusation against Israel hidden on a corrections page.”

Last November, the BBC also issued an apology for a television report that mentioned the Israeli army. The dispatch said that Israeli troops targeted medical personnel at a hospital in Gaza during a raid.

“We said that “medical teams and Arab speakers” were being targeted. This was incorrect and misquoted a Reuters report. We should have said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation,” the statement said.

International Law Breach

Since the beginning of the conflict, the UK government has been vocal in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself.

Since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and the subsequent response by the IDF, London saw several pro-Palestinian marches and sit-ins across UK, with protesters calling for a ceasefire.

In the most recent discussion of the conflict by the Foreign Office, Foreign Secretary David Cameron told a group of MPs that he was “worried” about breaches of international law.

“If you’re asking me, am I worried that Israel has taken action that might be in breach of international law because this particular premise has been bombed or whatever? Yes, of course I’m worried about that, and that’s why I consult the Foreign Office lawyers when giving this advice on arms exports,” Lord Cameron told the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

The Foreign Office head also called on Tel Aviv to restore water supply in Gaza but refused to comment on whether depriving the civilian population of water amounts to breaking laws on armed conflict.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Downing Street keeps the issue of international law breaches “under review.”

“We obviously we have made our views clear to the Israeli government at a number of levels on this. We continue to want Israel to act carefully and avoid doing anything that could endanger civilians or risk potential further escalation,” the spokesperson added.

Downing Street’s “fundamental” position remains that “Israel is responding to a terror attack, first and foremost,” the statement said.

PA contributed to this report.