BBC's Coverage of Hamas Leader's Death Is Really Something Else

On Tuesday night, it was reported that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed Iran, having been taken out by Israel.

Haniyeh was instrumental in the October 7 attack perpetrated against Israel, though one wouldn't know that from certain reports, including from the BBC. Such an attack, which led to the Israel-Hamas war, resulted in 1,200 Israelis dead, most of them civilians. Men, women, and children were all targeted. Not even babies and Holocaust survivors were spared. Hamas terrorists also engaged in rape, torture, and kidnapping, taking approximately 240 people hostage.

Dr. Eli David highlighted how, as part of the live coverage from the outlet, the BBC put out a piece on "Who was Haniyeh? In 140 words." At no point did this short piece mention the October 7 attack or the atrocities committed on such a day.

What was mentioned there, though was a focus on a ceasefire. "He had been playing a key role in negotiations over a ceasefire deal in Gaza," this post read about Haniyeh.

BBC's obituary of Ismail Haniyeh 👇

Not a single word about him being the head of one of the deadliest terrorist organizations in history, not a single word about October 7 massacre, not a single word about the blood of thousands on his hands 🤯

Shame on you @BBC!
_ pic.twitter.com/zgxHk11xf9
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) July 31, 2024

Such a specific post is bad enough, but as of Wednesday afternoon, four pages of live reporting posts amount to over 50 posts.

One of the first posts, about other Hamas leaders, does speak about the October 7 attack, but in some eyebrow-raising ways:

Yahya Sinwar – who Israel holds partly responsible for overseeing the 7 October raid which killed about 1,200 people and led to the kidnappings of more than 200 – has all but disappeared from the Gaza Strip, with Israel still working to discover his whereabouts.

Describing what happened on October 7 as being a "raid" is certainly a way to put it, especially given that it's usually described in military terms and that most of the casualties were civilians. There's also no mention of the rape and torture that took place.

It took dozens of posts before the October 7 attack was put in more accurate terms. "All eyes will inevitably fall on Israel, which vowed to hunt down and punish all Hamas leaders following the brutal attacks of 7 October, in which around 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed," one post discussing the method in which Haniyeh was reportedly killed by rockets read in part.

Another post soon after that also at least referred to "the unprecedented 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel..."

And yet another post soon after that, wondering "Why target Haniyeh now?," mentioned October 7, but said nothing about what happened on such a day. As Jeremy Bowen, their international editor, wrote in part:

I first met Ismail Haniyeh back in the late 1990s, when he was a rising Hamas official in Gaza.
His family has already been targeted by Israel since 7 October - sons and grandchildren who were travelling with him, killed by the Israelis.
...
Haniyeh was involved in the ceasefire and hostage release talks, so this is not going to make those any easier.

Much of the coverage has focused on responses from Hamas and Iran, as well as other countries taking issue with the assassination attempt of Haniyeh.

Further, the post highlighted by Dr. David was certainly not the only post to focus on talks about a ceasefire.

Not only does the summary mention how "Haniyeh’s death could also delay efforts to bring a ceasefire in Gaza, as he was a key player in negotiations," but so far, approximately 25 posts mention concerns about negotiating a ceasefire.