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This week, we look at the BBC changing a headline on a story about an Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital after receiving criticism, and a former BBC reporter speaking out on how the UK media has "failed" Palestinian journalists killed by Israel.
BBC cause stir with Gaza attack headline
THE BBC received criticism over the weekend when it put out a story with the headline “Gaza hospital hit by Israeli strike, Hamas-run health ministry says”.
The story concerned an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital, the last fully functional hospital in Gaza City. Critically ill patients were left on the street after fleeing the attack in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Authorities in Gaza have condemned the bombing, noting that al-Ahli Hospital was treating hundreds of patients when it was hit by at least two missiles.
The BBC was described by many on social media as “complicit” in Israel’s assault on Gaza.
One person posted: “A hospital is obliterated. The wounded are burnt alive. Children are pulled out in pieces. And you still have the audacity to write: ‘Gaza hospital hit by Israeli strike, Hamas says’?
“Hamas says? No. Gaza screams. The world watches. And you twist the knife with your carefully-engineered headline.
Others said the headline was “farcical”, with readers calling the article misleading and adding context on Twitter that Israel admitted it targeted the hospital.
Eventually the broadcaster changed the headline to “Israeli air strike destroys part of last functioning hospital in Gaza City”.
The BBC said the headline was changed once it had confirmation Israel had launched an airstrike.
A spokesperson said: “The BBC, along with other international news organisations, is denied independent access to Gaza.
"Attribution is therefore important in our initial reporting. Once we had confirmed Israel had launched an air strike, the headline changed to: Israeli air strike destroys part of last fully functional hospital in Gaza City.”
UK media 'failing' killed Palestinian journalists
Elsewhere, a former BBC reporter who quit the cooperation over its reporting on Gaza has criticised journalists across the industry for showing a lack of solidarity with Palestinian correspondents killed by Israel.
Karishma Patel – who worked for the BBC for almost five years but quit in October – said the industry had “failed” Palestinian reporters with too many journalists “toeing the line” and not speaking up about Israel “decimating the foundations” of the profession.
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs has said Israel’s war on Gaza is now the deadliest ever for media workers, according to its Costs of War project.
The United States-based think tank’s report released last week has stated that Israeli forces have killed 232 journalists and media workers since the war in the enclave began following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
The figures say that more journalists have been killed in the conflict than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia and the US war in Afghanistan combined.
However, Patel said many journalists at mainstream news outlets have “chosen the path of least resistance” and opted not to speak out in support of their Palestinian colleagues.
“They’re toeing the line, in the hopes of retaining a stable income and steady career progression,” she said.
Patel told The National how she saw an “outpour” of emotion over Ukrainians being displaced and killed by Russia in BBC newsrooms, but “nothing of the sort” over Palestinians.
She said if this many Ukrainian journalists had been killed, there would be “wall-to-wall” reporting on it, but this has not been the case with Palestinian journalists killed by Israel.
“Every system of accountability, including journalism itself, has failed Palestinian journalists,” she said.
