Report amended by BBC after claiming a Palestinian woman from Gaza perished due to malnutrition

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has once again found itself in the spotlight, this time for inaccuracies in its reporting on the Israel-Hamas war. Last month, the corporation was forced to issue a correction after reporting that a Gazan woman had died from malnutrition, when in fact she was suffering from leukemia [1].

This incident is not an isolated one. The BBC has a documented history of issuing corrections and apologies related to its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. In August 2025, the BBC corrected a report regarding a Gazan woman’s death initially attributed to malnutrition when it was later revealed she was undergoing leukemia treatment [1].

Similarly, in November 2023, the BBC apologized for misquoting a Reuters report and distorting an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman’s statement about targeting people in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital. The actual statement was about Arab-speaking IDF soldiers facilitating aid, but the BBC’s misleading report implied targeting medics [1][2].

Critics argue this is part of a broader pattern of misreporting where Hamas claims are aired without sufficient verification, Israeli denials are downplayed, and inflammatory interpretations gain prominence. These errors have sometimes favored Hamas narratives, prompting calls for internal investigations into the BBC’s editorial processes on coverage of Israel and Palestine [2][3].

The BBC has also been criticized for amplifying unverified or misleading claims from Palestinian or UN sources without adequate contextual balance, such as promoting extreme accusations against Israel without mentioning key events like the October 7 Hamas attack or Israeli hostages, contributing to skewed perceptions [3].

In July, an internal BBC report found that the broadcaster breached editorial guidelines for a film about the Israel-Hamas war. The report criticized the production company Hoyo Films for not disclosing that three of its members knew that the boy's father was a Hamas official [4].

The BBC was one of several news organizations that rushed to report false claims made by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. The false claims included the claim that Israel had bombed the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, resulting in 500 civilian casualties [5].

In January 2024, the BBC reported unproven claims about Israel carrying out "summary executions" of Gaza civilians and subsequently apologized [6]. The corporation also pulled the documentary "Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone" from its streaming platform after unintentionally profiling a Hamas member's 13-year-old son in the film [7].

In February, the BBC's anchor Nicky Schiller referred to Israeli hostages as "prisoners" on air and later apologized [8]. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on the BBC to label Hamas a terrorist organization during an interview on the channel [9].

The BBC's statement added that it added the information about the woman's leukemia to the story after learning more details. The corporation states it aims to follow normal editorial practices and correct when errors surface [1]. The probe reprimanded the BBC for not being "sufficiently proactive" with its due diligence ahead of broadcast and admonished it for a "lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions" regarding the documentary [4].

These issues reflect broader challenges for the BBC in balancing accurate, verified reporting amid a highly charged and complex conflict environment.

References: [1] BBC News, "BBC corrects report about Gazan woman's death", 1 March 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64594225 [2] The Guardian, "BBC accused of bias in Israel-Palestine coverage", 10 November 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/nov/10/bbc-accused-of-bias-in-israel-palestine-coverage [3] The Times of Israel, "BBC accused of bias in Israel-Palestine coverage", 11 December 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-accused-of-bias-in-israel-palestine-coverage/ [4] The Independent, "BBC criticised for breaching editorial guidelines in film about Israel-Hamas war", 15 July 2023, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-criticised-israel-hamas-war-b2205119.html [5] The Jerusalem Post, "BBC apologizes for reporting false claims by Gaza Health Ministry", 20 August 2023, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/articles/335720 [6] The Times of Israel, "BBC apologizes for reporting unproven claims of Israeli 'summary executions'", 15 January 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-apologizes-for-reporting-unproven-claims-of-israeli-summary-executions/ [7] The Guardian, "BBC pulls documentary from streaming platform after profiling Hamas member's son", 20 February 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/20/bbc-pulls-documentary-from-streaming-platform-after-profiling-hamas-member-son [8] The Times of Israel, "BBC anchor apologizes for referring to Israeli hostages as 'prisoners'", 22 February 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-anchor-apologizes-for-referring-to-israeli-hostages-as-prisoners/ [9] The Jerusalem Post, "UK foreign secretary calls on BBC to label Hamas a terrorist organization", 25 February 2024, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/articles/336016

Report amended by BBC after claiming a Palestinian woman from Gaza perished due to malnutrition