According to the International Federation of Journalists, at least 233 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s assault began in October 2023. Some sources put the number much higher – around 270 – and dozens more are injured or missing.
On Monday (25th August), Israel targeted the Nasser hospital (with a second attack killing rescue workers attempting to retrieve bodies) causing multiple fatalities which included prominent journalists from international outlets like Reuters and Al Jazeera.
A recent report by the Centre for Media Monitoring found that the BBC gave 33 times more coverage per fatality to Israeli deaths compared to Palestinians, with damning analysis of the emotional language used to describe one side against the other.
In June, more than a hundred of its own journalists signed a letter to BBC management highlighting pro-Israel bias, and accusing it of coverage that “resembles PR for the Israeli government and military”.
Former BBC chairman Richard Sharp was a hardline Zionist with connections to Israeli intelligence, and the current head of the Middle East Desk, Raffi Berg, is reported as collaborating with Mossad figures when working at the US State Department previously.
BBC Board member with editorial influence Robbie Gibb, famously rescued the pro-Zionist and often inaccurate Jewish Chronicle last year, and continues to have strong links with Israel policy circles.
Following the internationally-condemned Nasser hospital attack, Parents For Palestine organised a children’s protest outside the BBC HQ in London. Some parents attempted to set up a small table in front of the entrance, serving salt water (referencing that some Gazan mothers are giving the liquid to children to try and stave off some hunger during the current man-made famine). They were pounced on by security who threatened to involve the police if they didn’t move immediately.
The protest continued outside the Piazza area, which was closed off to the public, with children dressed in Press outfits reading out some of their thoughts through a sound system. The last will of Anas Jamal al-Sharif (an Al-Jazeera journalist killed at Al-Shifa hospital earlier this month) was read out, along with the famous poem by Refaat Alareer, “If I Must Die”.
Before leaving, the small crowd unfurled a huge banner with the slogan “BBC – You Are Complicit” – some went on to join a gathering at Downing Street where journalists handed a letter in to the government.
