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EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has apologized for reporting an unverified Hamas claim about the Israeli army carrying out “summary executions” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
BBC radio news bulletins reported Hamas’ allegation on Christmas Eve but the corporation said sufficient efforts were not made to corroborate the claim of the designated terror group.
The source of the story appears to be news agency AFP, which reported that Hamas had gathered testimonies showing 137 Palestinians had been executed since the start of Israel‘s offensive. AFP said it could not verify the claim.
The BBC radio bulletins quoted the Israeli military saying it was unaware of the incident and Hamas does not “value truth,” but it was not enough to prevent the broadcaster from issuing a correction.
In a statement, the BBC said: “In overnight output [on BBC radio news bulletins] we ran a story about Hamas accusing the Israeli army of carrying out summary executions in the Gaza strip.
“This was a Hamas statement, but although the accusations were attributed and our story contained a response from the Israeli military saying they were unaware of the incident and that Hamas was a terrorist organisation that did not value truth, we had not made sufficient effort to seek corroborating evidence to justify reporting the Hamas claim. We apologise for this mistake.”
It is not the first time the BBC has admitted to mistakes in its output on the conflict in Gaza. Last November, it apologized for reporting that Israeli troops targeted medics and Arab speakers during a raid on Gaza’s main hospital, Al-Shifa.
The BBC also said it was “wrong to speculate” on who was responsible for the blast at Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Arab hospital last October. The BBC attributed the attack to Israel.
BBC News CEO Deborah Turness has put trust in the corporation’s news at the forefront of her agenda. She has launched BBC Verify with the stated aim of “fact-checking, verifying video, countering disinformation, analysing data and – crucially – explaining complex stories in the pursuit of truth.”
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