Gaza war: Over 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in coverage

The BBC has been accused by over 100 of its staff members of having a pro-Israel "bias" in its coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza, ongoing for over a year, UK media reported on Saturday.

In a letter sent to the BBC director Tim Davie and CEO Deborah Turness, the staff members also criticised the broadcaster for its lack of "accurate evidence-based and consistently fair" journalism, accusing it of "failing" to adhere by its own editorial standards.

The letter, first reported by The Independent on Friday, saw over 100 signatories from the British broadcaster's staff members, plus other signatures from the media industry, actors and politicians and other public figures.

"Basic journalistic tenets have been lacking when it comes to holding Israel to account for its actions," staff members said in the letter.

The signatories went on to urge the broadcaster to report "without fear or favour" and to "recommit to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality" in its reporting on Gaza.

The letter also called on the BBC to apply a number of editorial requirements, such as stressing that Israel is the perpetrator in headlines when the army carries out attacks, including "historical context predating the events" of October 7, 2023, and "robustly challenging" Israeli officials and representatives in interviews.

The letter also demanded the BBC to explicitly state that external journalists are being prohibited from entering Gaza by Israeli forces.

Speaking to The Independent, one of the letter's signatories said the BBC had published a number of "a number of dehumanising and misleading headlines" concerning the killings of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces.

Another signatory said the broadcaster "always treats" Palestinians as "an unreliable source", but "always gives Israel's version of events", despite ample evidence of the army circulating false information.

The letter also highlighted alleged failings by other UK media organisations, including ITV and Sky News.

The BBC denied the letter's claims, saying that when they "make mistakes or have made changes to the way they report", they "are transparent".

The broadcaster also added that it "does not and cannot reflect any single world view" in its reporting.

The public broadcaster has come under fire on number of occasions for its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, chiefly concerning Palestinian victims of Israeli violence.

In July this year, the BBC described the killing of disabled Palestinian man by Israeli forces as a "lonely death", after 24-year-old Muhammad Bhar, who was suffering with Down’s Syndrome, was left to die by the Israeli army after being mauled by a combat dog with was set on him in Shujaiya.

The BBC did not mention Muhammad's death until the 16th paragraph of the article, and chose to lead the story with the difficulties the 24-year-old was faced with as a man with disabilities living through war.

Public outcry ensued, leading the broadcaster to delete the initial tweet concerning the story, before changing the headline to "Gaza man with Down's syndrome attacked by IDF dog and left to die".

In a similar fashion, eight UK-based BBC staff members wrote a letter in November last year accusing the broadcaster of using having "double-standards" on reporting on Palestinian casualties, framing Hamas as the only instigator during the war and failing to empathise with Palestinian suffering the way they would with that of Ukrainians. 

During the onset of Israel's war in Gaza, reports emerged that staff were "found crying" in bathrooms over the BBC's coverage of the military onslaught. Additionally, the BBC's early coverage of  the war prompted the likes of veteran reporter Bassam Bounenni to resign as the BBC's North Africa correspondent. A number of BBC Arabic staff were also probed and taken off the air for displaying pro-Palestinian sentiments on social media.

Israeli forces have killed at least 43,314 Palestinians as of Saturday, and are currently intensifying a military campaign in Gaza's north. Israel's war has also extended to Lebanon, where 2,897 have been killed since October last year.

Israel's actions in the regions have condemned globally, with many labelling them as "war crimes" and "genocide".