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BBC Spreads Vicious Falsehood in Coverage of Israeli Events at Gaza Hospital
Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, Nov. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Doaa Rouqa
Just after midnight UK time (2 a.m. Israel time) on November 15, the IDF posted a tweet concerning operations at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City:
The BBC News channel reported that development as follows: [emphasis in italics in the original, emphasis in bold added]
Presenter: “At this moment we’re hearing from Reuters that it’s reporting that Israel, it says, its forces are carrying out an operation against Hamas in Gaza’s al Shifa hospital and they are targeting people including medical teams as well as Arab speakers. They are also saying that Israel is calling on all Hamas operatives in the hospital to surrender at this point.
Once again, we are hearing from Reuters that Israel has said its forces are carrying out an operation against Hamas in that hospital we had just heard of there, targeting its Arab speakers as well as some of the medical staff there and they are asking all Hamas operatives in that hospital to surrender.”
Reuters reporting on that story had claimed nothing of the sort but had included the following:
GAZA, Nov 15 (Reuters) – The Israeli military said it was carrying out a raid on Wednesday against Hamas militants in Al Shifa Hospital, having urged them to surrender with thousands of Palestinian civilians still sheltering inside Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital. […]
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: “Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital.”
The military added: “The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.”
In other words, the BBC’s presenter — apparently Monica Miller — managed not once, but twice in less than a minute, to provide BBC audiences with a completely false and totally misleading account of events at Shifa hospital.
The fact that the presenter and the rest of that program’s production team did not question the claim that Israel was targeting medical staff and Arabic speakers (which surely covers just about everyone at the hospital) speaks volumes about the “received wisdoms” — and basic comprehension abilities — at play in BBC newsrooms.
The fact that none of the BBC’s staff apparently bothered to fact check that entirely baseless “news” before it was broadcast to millions of viewers is likewise indicative of the corporation’s commitment to adherence to standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Complaints on this issue were swiftly submitted by members of the public, and the Board of Deputies of British Jews demanded a public apology.
Update: the BBC has apologized for that “error,” which it claims came as a result of having “misquoted a Reuters report” and “fell below our usual editorial standards”.
After making that apology, the BBC then published a statement on its Corrections and Clarifications webpage:
Hadar Sela is the co-editor of CAMERA UK – an affiliate of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where a version of this article first appeared.
The post BBC Spreads Vicious Falsehood in Coverage of Israeli Events at Gaza Hospital first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.