BBC Defends Gaza Coverage Against White House Criticism

Fri Jul 18 2025 13:45:52 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)
BBC Defends Gaza Coverage Against White House Criticism

BBC stands firm on its reporting integrity as White House misrepresents its coverage related to Gaza conflict.


The BBC has issued a strong defense against inaccurate claims from the White House regarding its coverage of the Gaza conflict, reaffirming its commitment to factual reporting in the face of ongoing misinformation.


The BBC has rejected incorrect claims made by the White House regarding its coverage of the ongoing Gaza conflict, asserting that allegations about retracting a story were "completely wrong." During a briefing on Tuesday, President Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, accused the BBC of relying on "the word of Hamas" when reporting on casualties from a shooting incident near an aid distribution center on Sunday.

Leavitt also claimed that the BBC retracted a story, but the organization responded with a clear statement: "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 BBC explained that updates to casualty figures throughout the day were standard practice for fast-moving news events.

The organization emphasized that its coverage reflected evolving information, starting with 15 victims reported by medics, increasing to 31 following statements from the Hamas-run health ministry, and ultimately leading to a figure of "at least 21" from a Red Cross statement.

Conflicting accounts emerged regarding the event, with civilian witnesses and NGOs alleging that individuals were shot while waiting for food at an aid distribution site, while the Israeli military denied these claims and asserted that its personnel did not fire at civilians. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which oversees the aid distribution, labeled the reports as "outright fabrications."

Additionally, the White House press secretary criticized the BBC for removing a story because, in her words, it "couldn't find any evidence of anything." This accusation referred to a BBC Verify investigation of a viral video, which found that the footage did not relate to the aid distribution center in question. However, the BBC clarified that this video was not included in its news coverage and did not affect its reporting.

The organization critiqued the conflation of the two incidents as misleading and called for immediate access for international journalists to Gaza, expressing that it is essential to provide truthful information on the situation. Since the start of Israel's military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, fatalities have surged with reports indicating over 54,470 deaths in Gaza, including more than 4,201 since an escalation began on March 18.

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