The BBC pushed back on criticism Wednesday after the White House accused it of uncritically echoing claims from Hamas regarding the deaths of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in Gaza.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense organization, at least 31 individuals were killed by Israeli gunfire on Sunday in proximity to a humanitarian aid location funded by the United States.
The IDF firmly denied any involvement in civilian casualties around the area, while both the Israeli military and the aid site’s management accused Hamas of spreading disinformation to manipulate public perception.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the matter on Tuesday, pointing a finger at the BBC’s reporting on the situation.
“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,” she stated.
Leavitt specifically called out the BBC for running several stories that featured inconsistent fatality numbers.
“We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines,” she said, referencing varied reporting of the death toll.
“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,’” she added.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also chimed in, reposting Leavitt’s comments on X with a caption suggesting the BBC “stop spreading fake news to vilify Israel.”
The BBC, however, issued a firm rebuttal to the White House’s accusations, clarifying that no article had been deleted and defending the integrity of its journalism.
“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,” the broadcaster said in a formal statement.
The BBC further explained that shifting death tolls in its headlines were a routine part of responsible news coverage, reflecting real-time updates as new data became available.
It emphasized that all figures in its coverage were properly sourced: “The death tolls 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,’” it added.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 179 patients were treated at its Rafah facility following the incident, with 21 of them declared dead upon arrival.
Leavitt also took aim at the Washington Post for its initial handling of the story.
The Post acknowledged it pulled one version of its report due to sourcing concerns, explaining that “because it and early versions of the article didn’t meet Post fairness standards.”
The outlet later updated its headline and content Sunday night, stating that “there was no consensus about who was responsible.”
The BBC has previously found itself in the spotlight for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. In one instance earlier this year, the network issued an apology after a documentary titled Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was revealed to feature a 13-year-old narrator who was the son of a high-ranking Hamas operative.
{Matzav.com}