BBC defends Gaza coverage after White House criticism
White House accuses BBC of spreading Hamas-sourced lies; broadcaster denies removing Gaza aid centre death report
The BBC has defended its coverage of the war in Gaza, after the White House criticised its reporting of an apparent incident in the territory, which reportedly left a number of people dead.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the corporation, after updating an article’s headline with new information, had to “correct and take down” its story about fatalities and injuries following a reported incident near an aid distribution centre in Rafah.
The BBC said it has not removed its story and explained that its headlines about the incident were “updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources”, which is “totally normal practice”.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Ms Leavitt responded to a question about the incident and said: “The administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth.
“We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines, they wrote, ‘Israeli tank kills 26’, ‘Israeli tank kills 21’, ‘Israeli gunfire kills 31’, ‘Red Cross says, 21 people were killed in an aid incident’.
“And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying ‘We reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything’.”
While she was speaking Ms Leavitt held up a document that appeared to show a social media post from X, formerly Twitter, with the different headlines.
The person who posted the headlines also posted a screenshot from a BBC live blog and wrote: “The admission that it was all a lie.”
The headline from the blog post read: “Claim graphic video is linked to aid distribution site in Gaza is incorrect.”
A BBC spokesperson said this came from the a BBC Verify online report, and not the corporation’s story about the killings in Rafah, saying that a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution centre it claimed to show.
Ms Leavitt added: “We’re going to look into reports before we confirm them from this podium or before we take action, and I suggest that journalists who actually care about truth do the same to reduce the amount of misinformation that’s going around the globe on this front.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism.
“Our news stories and headlines about Sunday’s aid distribution centre incident were updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources.
“These were always clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of ‘at least 21’ at their field hospital.
“This is totally normal practice on any fast-moving news story.
“Completely separately, a BBC Verify online report on Monday reported a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution centre it claimed to show.
“This video did not run on BBC news channels and had not informed our reporting. Conflating these two stories is simply misleading.
“It is vital to bring people the truth about what is happening in Gaza. International journalists are not currently allowed into Gaza and we would welcome the support of the White House in our call for immediate access.”
The corporation has faced a backlash over its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict and it emerged earlier in the year that a documentary it aired about Gaza featured the son of a senior Hamas figure.
Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was removed from BBC iPlayer after it emerged that the child narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
