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Why Is the BBC Still Promoting Hamas’ Unverified and False Casualty Counts?

The BBC logo is seen at the entrance at Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London. Photo by Vuk Valcic / SOPA Images/Sipa USA.

Visitors to the BBC News website’s “Middle East” page early on the morning of September 10, were told that Israel had killed 40 people in a safe zone in the Gaza Strip:

Early versions of that report were credited to Rushdi Abualouf in Istanbul and Thomas Mackintosh in London, with the original headline reading as follows:

At least 40 people have been killed in southern Gaza and dozens more injured in Israeli strikes on a designated humanitarian zone, the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority said.

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked an operations centre in Khan Younis belonging to Hamas militants using precision weaponry.

Local residents said three strikes targeted tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, west of the city of Khan Younis, causing huge craters.

Forty people were killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble,” the operations director of Hamas’s civil defence authority told the BBC.” […]

“Hamas rejected the Israeli military’s claims that there were Hamas fighters present in the area, calling it a “blatant” lie.

“The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or using these places for military purposes.” [emphasis added]

later headline focused BBC audiences ‘attentions on the “safe zone” element of the story:

At least 40 people have been killed in southern Gaza and dozens more injured in Israeli strikes on a designated humanitarian zone, the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority has said.

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked an operations centre in Khan Younis belonging to Hamas fighters, and it had taken steps to mitigate risk of harming civilians.

Local residents said three strikes targeted tents housing displaced people in the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, west of the city of Khan Younis, causing seven metre-deep craters.

Forty people were killed and more than 60 injured, while many are still under the rubble,” the operations director of Hamas’s Civil Defence authority told the BBC.

Despite plenty of past experience, clearly the BBC has yet to understand that its blind faith in claims put out by the Hamas-run Gaza civil defence is misplaced.

Some eight hours after the report’s original publication, its headline was changed again and David Gritten was added to the list of those credited:

The number of alleged casualties fell dramatically in that version of the BBC’s report:

At least 13 people have been killed in an overnight Israeli strike in the designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, a local hospital says.

Residents said three missiles hit a tented camp crowded with displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area, south-west of the city of Khan Younis, leaving 7m-deep (23ft) craters.

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked what it called “a number of senior Hamas terrorists” operating there – a claim Hamas denied.

The military also disputed the initial death toll put out by the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority, which reported that rescue teams had recovered more than 40 bodies.

Nevertheless, that version of the report continued to repeat the original claim:

The Civil Defence’s operations director said overnight that more than 40 people were killed and more than 60 others were injured. He also warned that “many are still under the rubble”.

There was no immediate casualty report from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Later on Monday, an official at the nearby Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said 13 people killed in the strike had been brought there.

Readers were told that:

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said aircraft had conducted “a precise strike on a number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control centre embedded inside the humanitarian area”.

They included Samer Abu Daqqa, head of Hamas’s aerial unit, and Osama Tabesh, head of the observation and targets department in Hamas’s military intelligence headquarters, it added.

As reported by the Israeli media, the third senior Hamas officer killed in that strike was named Ayman Mabhouh — and all three were directly involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as well as subsequent attacks on IDF troops.

Nevertheless, the BBC’s report continued with uncritical promotion of blatant Hamas propaganda:

The IDF accused Hamas of embedding its operatives and military infrastructure in the humanitarian zone and using civilians as human shields.

A Hamas statement denounced the strike on al-Mawasi as a “heinous massacre” and rejected the IDF’s claim that it had a command centre there.

“This is a clear lie that aims to justify these ugly crimes. The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or use these places for military purposes,” it said.

Roughly an hour later, the headline to that BBC report was changed yet again.

That version of the report likewise uncritically promotes Hamas talking points, including via an unidentified “freelance journalist”:

The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked what it called “a number of senior Hamas terrorists” operating there — a claim Hamas denied.”

“Aya Madi, a displaced mother of seven from the southern city of Rafah, told a freelance journalist working for the BBC: “We woke up to nothing but sand and fire. […]

She said all of those killed were civilians, adding that there was “not a single resistance fighter”.

A Hamas statement denounced the strike on al-Mawasi as a “heinous massacre” and rejected the IDF’s claim that it had a command centre there.

“This is a clear lie that aims to justify these ugly crimes. The resistance has denied several times that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or use these places for military purposes,” it said.

In the space of about 12 hours, the number of people killed according to the BBC went down by over half: from 40 to 19. The story behind that dramatic change is portrayed in that version of Abualouf and Gritten’s report as follows:

The [Israeli] military also disputed the initial death toll put out by the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority, which reported that rescue teams had recovered more than 40 bodies. […]

The Civil Defence’s operations director said overnight that more than 40 people were killed and more than 60 others were injured.

Later on Monday, the nearby Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said 13 people killed in the strike had been brought there. […]

In the afternoon, the Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement that hospitals had received a total of 19 bodies and more than 60 wounded people, some of whom were in a serious condition. It did not say how many were men, women or children.

In other words, sometime overnight on September 9-10, the BBC was told that 40 people had been killed in a strike in Khan Younis.

Whether that information came directly from one of the Hamas bodies promoting that number — the Gaza civil defense and the Hamas Government Media Office — or from a different source quoting them is unclear, but given that Istanbul-based Rushdi Abualouf (who just last month attended Hamas’ memorial for Ismail Haniyeh in Doha) was involved in the writing of all versions of this report, it would seem likely that he was the journalist who received that information.

Apparently though, the BBC has learned nothing from its past experiences and so even though it could not independently verify that remarkably swiftly announced alleged casualty toll — and despite knowing that its sources were the untrustworthy branches of the terrorist organization that initiated the current war — it decided to nevertheless promote it worldwide.

In this case, however, the IDF quickly challenged Hamas’ claims:

“In general, and according to a preliminary review, the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, which has consistently broadcast lies and false information throughout the war, do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike,” the military said.

That led Hamas — this time via its health ministry — to issue a “clarification” including a much lower casualty count, and the BBC had to amend its report accordingly.

Hamas, however, got what it wanted: eight hours of worldwide headlines on the website of the world’s largest media organization about Israel killing 40 civilians in a safe zone, and repeated promotion of propaganda concerning its use of human shields.

The BBC nevertheless continues to claim that it produces news you can trust.

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 Why Is the BBC Still Promoting Hamas’ Unverified and False Casualty Counts? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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From Iran Nukes to Europe-Israel Diplomacy, New York Times Can’t or Won’t Get the Context Right

The New York Times building in New York City. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The New York Times came in with a big editorial denouncing antisemitism and infuriating the Jew-hating readers who populate its comment section — but its news pages keep spreading falsehoods about Israel.

Three recent examples show how Times reporters lack historical or even recent context.

A Times news article about Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway imposing sanctions on Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich includes this passage:

“Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do it again,” Mr. Smotrich posted on social media in Hebrew, referring to Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The intended reference there actually seems to be not “Jewish settlements in the West Bank” but rather the infamous British “White Paper” of 1939 that sharply limited Jewish immigration into the British controlled mandate of Palestine. The White Paper capped Jewish migration at 75,000 over five years, during a moment when millions of Jews were desperately seeking to escape the Nazi onslaught. “After the period of five years, no further Jewish immigration will be permitted unless the Arabs of Palestine are prepared to acquiesce in it,” the White Paper said. It’s astonishing that this has somehow vanished from the Times‘ historical memory.

Another Times news article claimed, “The toll and imposition of a blockade, now partially lifted, in the territory [Gaza] have provoked growing international outrage, including among European states like France and Britain little inclined to sharp criticism of Israel in the past.” The idea that the outrage is “provoked” by Israeli actions rather than motivated by the growing and restive Muslim populations in France and Britain is questionable. There’s no outrage against Egypt, which also borders Gaza. And it’s inaccurate to say that France and Britain have been “little inclined to sharp criticism of Israel in the past.”

For example, in 2019 a French diplomatic statement said, “France condemns the decisions taken by the Israeli authorities on 5 and 6 August allowing for the construction of 2,304 housing units on the West Bank. These decisions come amid the troubling acceleration of settlement building on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. As stated in UN Security Council Resolution 2334, these settlements are contrary to international law. This policy further heightens tensions on the ground and gravely undermines the conditions for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on a two-state solution.”

A brief for the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs reported, “For many years, France has been the driving force behind anti-Israel political attitudes in the EU. In addition, former Israeli UN ambassador Yehuda Blum noted, ‘The French at the UN were the leaders of every anti-Israel initiative originating in Europe throughout. Theirs was a totally unbalanced position. We counted them in the Arab camp.’”

In 2002, British and French foreign ministers met with Yasser Arafat at a time when George W. Bush was trying to freeze Arafat out.

A third example of Times cluelessness comes from the paper’s “live” news coverage of the war between Israel and Iran. “In his first television interview since Israel struck Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence found that Iran had enough uranium to build nine nuclear bombs but did not provide any evidence for that claim,” the Times said. The “did not provide evidence” phrase is a tic that the Times uses against people it doesn’t like in order to signal to readers that what those people say cannot be trusted.

The Times itself reported in December 2024, “Iran already has enough of a stockpile to make the fuel for four weapons in a matter of weeks or days.” Another recent Times article commented on Netanyahu’s claim of nine weapons by noting, “Other experts put the figure slightly higher, at 10, but the actual number would depend on how efficiently the Iranians prove to be at producing a warhead or a bomb.”

How much more evidence does the Times want? On June 9, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency spoke publicly about Iran, saying, “The agency cannot ignore the stockpiling of over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium.” An analysis put out the same day by the Institute for Science and International Security of the May 31, 2025, IAEA quarterly monitoring report says, “Iran can convert its current stock of 60 percent enriched uranium into 233 kg of WGU in three weeks at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), enough for 9 nuclear weapons, taken as 25 kg of weapon-grade uranium (WGU) per weapon … Iran could produce its first quantity of 25 kg of WGU in Fordow in as little as two to three days … Breaking out in both Fordow and the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), the two facilities together could produce enough WGU for 11 nuclear weapons in the first month, enough for 15 nuclear weapons by the end of the second month, 19 by the end of the third month, 21 by the end of the fourth month, and 22 by the end of the fifth month.”

I guess the Times could litigate that Netanyahu is eliding the conversion from highly enriched to weapon-grade, but he’s giving a wartime television interview, not a technical nuclear briefing.

So, when the Times complains that Netanyahu “did not provide any evidence,” the newspaper is just displaying its own bias and lack of knowledge about the context, as surely as it did in the other examples. One thing for which there is surely a lot of evidence: the Times‘s own weak grasp of basic details, history, and context for the events unfolding in the Middle East.

Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. He writes frequently at TheEditors.com. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.

The post From Iran Nukes to Europe-Israel Diplomacy, New York Times Can’t or Won’t Get the Context Right first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Antisemitic Incidents in Argentina Surge by 15% Amid Global Rise, New Report Finds

Argentina’s President Javier Milei attends a commemoration event ahead of the anniversary of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Martin Cassarini

Argentina experienced a 15 percent increase in reported antisemitic incidents last year, as the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in the Middle East sparked a rise in hate crimes, according to a report issued by the country’s Jewish umbrella organization on Thursday.

The Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA) presented the 2024 Annual Report on Antisemitism in Argentina, which recorded 687 anti-Jewish hate crimes — up from 598 antisemitic incidents in 2023 — marking a notable surge in antisemitic activity in the country.

According to the report, X and Facebook were the main platforms where hate messages were spread. However, antisemitic incidents also increased in public spaces, schools, and even neighborhoods.

“Hate may change its form, but it never truly disappears,” DAIA said in a post on X. “Behind every statistic is a story — a person, a community, a wound.”

The study indicates that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories.

There was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.

“At DAIA, we are committed every day to raising awareness, reporting, and eliminating antisemitism in all its forms,” the organization said in a statement. “Because staying silent is part of the problem.”

The report explains that the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel has triggered a surge in antisemitic expressions, with 39.5 percent of the hate crimes involving discourse related to the war in Gaza, followed by 23.5 percent involving Nazi symbolism.

Argentina has been hardly alone in reporting a surge in anti-Jewish crimes. According to the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel, there was a staggering 340 percent increase in total antisemitic incidents worldwide in 2024 compared to 2022.

For example, the United States reported a 288 percent increase in antisemitic atrocities last year compared to 2022, while Canada experienced a 562 percent surge over the same period.

In Europe, France saw a surge of over 350 percent in antisemitic incidents, while the United Kingdom recorded a 450 percent spike, with nearly 2,000 acts of antisemitism in just the first half of 2024.

In South Africa, antisemitic incidents rose by 185 percent, while Australia experienced a sharp increase of 387 percent.

At the global level, the report found that 41 percent of incidents involved antisemitic propaganda, 15.5 percent included acts of violence, and around 25 percent were related to Israel.

The research also revealed that online antisemitism surged, rising by more than 300 percent.

With Argentine President Javier Milei among the most vocal supporters of Israel, Argentina has become a key player in global efforts to combat antisemitism and terrorism, while defending democracy and Israel’s right to exist.

Last year, for example, more than 30 countries led by the United States adopted “global guidelines for countering antisemitism” during a gathering of special envoys and other representatives from around the globe in Argentina.

The post Antisemitic Incidents in Argentina Surge by 15% Amid Global Rise, New Report Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Massive Times Square Billboard Denounces ‘Free Palestine’ Movement for Contributing to Rise in Antisemitism

A digital billboard in Times Square organized by the Coalition for Jewish Values that condemns the “Free Palestine” movement. Photo: Provided

A Jewish organization representing more than 2,500 Orthodox rabbis launched a billboard campaign in Times Square on Wednesday that condemns the “Free Palestine” movement for fueling the deadly rise of antisemitism in the US after the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, The Algemeiner has learned.

The 10-second digital advertisement, organized by the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), reads: “Free Palestine = Support for Hamas = Calling for Genocide of Jews. America, Wake Up. It Never Ends With the Jews!” The ad will appear multiple times per hour and be live in Times Square for 30 days, according to CJV.

“When students on college campuses chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ America itself is at risk,” said CJV Executive Vice President Rabbi Yaakov Menken in a released statement. “We call upon all Americans to join us in speaking clearly about who and what the bloodthirsty ‘Free Palestine’ movement stands for, and the need to stamp it out.” CJV is the largest rabbinic public policy organization in America.

The United States has recorded more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents since the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to data presented to the Israeli parliament’s Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Commission in January.

Since then, a terrorist set fire to the official residence of Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because of the arsonist’s support for “Palestine” and the Palestinian people; two Israeli Embassy workers were murdered in Washington, DC, by a gunman who shouted “Free Palestine” before being arrested; and a man who threw Molotov cocktails at people rallying in Boulder, Colorado, for the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip yelled “Free Palestine” during the terror attack.

At a congressional vigil last week for the two Israeli embassy employees murdered in May, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said “the ‘Free Palestine’ call has become a violent movement that collaborates with Hamas.”

“Too many Jewish organizations are afraid to say what Speaker Johnson finds obvious: the cry of ‘Free Palestine’ is the call of domestic terrorists,” said Menken. “Israel is the only free country in the Middle East. The one thing Israel is not free of is Jews, and that is what ‘Free Palestine’ aims to correct, in the model of Hitler’s Final Solution. They have no interest in building a nation but destroying one. They do not want to elevate Palestinian Arabs, but to eradicate Jews. This is classic antisemitism, and history proves that there is no greater danger to the continuity of a civilization.”

The post Massive Times Square Billboard Denounces ‘Free Palestine’ Movement for Contributing to Rise in Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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