In recent days, more hostages kept by Hamas terrorists since October 7, 2023, have come out of the hell that was captivity. As if their situation hasn't been hellish enough, the BBC had particularly abominable coverage of these hostages.
The hostages were exchanged as part of a swap deal, with a disproportionate number of Palestinian criminals released in exchange for civilians such as Or Levy, who is only 34 but looks like a shell of his former self. And yet BBC referred to these nefarious characters as "hostages" themselves, trying to equate the two sides, with a chyron stating, "Concerns over appearance of hostages on both sides."
Dear BBC,
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) February 9, 2025
Here’s a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist released yesterday. Minutes after his release, he’s already armed and vowed to resume fighting against Israel.
1.Does he look like a hostage to you?
2.Does he look starving to you?
Convicted terrorists are NOT hostages.… pic.twitter.com/V6FBMl2O8P
"Hostages on both sides"
— Elder of Ziyon 🇮🇱 (@elderofziyon) February 8, 2025
Go to hell, @BBCNews pic.twitter.com/PcDh65yqkr
The outlet also bent over backward to point out that a quote saying Eli Sharabi, one of the released hostages, appeared "gaunt," came from his "British family," even though it was plain for all to see that the hostages had been starved and mistreated in countless other ways.
The original BBC News (World) post from Saturday currently has 2,200 replies.
Every person in the world with the ability to see can recognize that Eli Sharabi was starved.
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) February 8, 2025
This isn’t something his “British family says.” This is fact. Shame on you. pic.twitter.com/VQGrFr7Lfl
Freed Israeli hostage looks gaunt, British family says https://t.co/EDst4p2ZJF
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 8, 2025
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Attributing such an objective observation to the man's own family as if it is a matter of opinion certainly appears to be an attempt to sanitize the issue, especially when it comes to the before and after captivity photos that have been circulating on social media.
It's also not difficult to see why such photos have been compared to those of concentration camp survivors from 1945.
This is the first time during the entire Gaza War that I see actual starvation.
— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) February 8, 2025
And it's an Israeli hostage, not a Gazan. pic.twitter.com/PcRN5c67B7
I can’t….
— David Draiman 🟦🎗️🇮🇱✡️☮️ (@davidmdraiman) February 8, 2025
Dear lord.
They murder their families.
Abduct them.
Torture them.
Starve them.
Then they parade them as trophies as the world watches.
Those who cheer and defend this barbarism, have no place in civilized society. #BringThemHome #BringThemHomeNow pic.twitter.com/oXZMYPIDsC
Never Again is now. pic.twitter.com/FtyySt8lLv
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) February 8, 2025
From there, BBC anchors also attempted to grill Israeli officials as to whether they were the ones committing crimes. "Do you accept that Israel committed crimes against civilians in this war?" an anchor asked.
President of Israel Isaac Herzog rejected the comments for the biased falsehoods that they were.
BBC presenters tried to outdo each other today in terms of equating the release of hostages with PRISONERS.
— Nicole Lampert (@nicolelampert) February 9, 2025
The difference - aside from the fact that one lot are innocent civilians and the other lot is made up of terrorists and murderers - is that while the hostages were denied… pic.twitter.com/YtUL1fABv5
Over the weekend, BBC put out a piece online titled "Who are Israeli hostages released and rescued from Gaza?" One entry gaining particularly negative attention describes the plight of one of the young hostages, Emily Hand, an Irish citizen who turned nine while in captivity. The two-sentence mention of Hand states she "went missing from Be'eri" when she was really abducted by Hamas terrorists.
Former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar also posted on X commenting on the release of Hand, stating that an "innocent child who was lost [and] has now been found and returned."
Varadkar's post restricted replies and was hit with Community Notes for his sanitized view of Hamas kidnapping and holding hostage young children.
Emily Hand did not simply go "missing from Be'eri," @BBCNews.
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 10, 2025
She did not walk out of her kibbutz into Gaza. Hamas terrorists abducted her.
Why is it so difficult for the BBC to give agency to Palestinian terrorists? pic.twitter.com/a33NGEsC4x
This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 25, 2023
As shameful as this coverage is, this isn't the only incident of such bias from the BBC. Late last July, as we covered at the time, the outlet put out a curious obituary of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, with its live updates also portraying the October 7 attack in rather sanitized terms.
The Associated Press has also been called out for similar framing of the hostage deal, which is hardly surprising given the AP's past reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict and also coming from an outlet that had reporters embedded with Hamas during the October 7 attack.
Just as the BBC tried to put it on the man's family for accurately saying that Sharabi appeared "gaunt," the AP put out an article on Saturday, "Who are the Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for Israeli hostages?"
As some particularly noteworthy excerpts read, seeking to sympathize with those Palestinians:
Israel views the prisoners as terrorists, while Palestinians see them as freedom fighters resisting a decadeslong military occupation.
Nearly every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel at some point, for militant attacks or lesser offenses such as rock-throwing, protesting or membership in a banned political group. Some are held for months or years without trial in what is known as administrative detention, which Israel says is needed to prevent attacks and avoid sharing sensitive intelligence.
...
Some of the released men dropped to their knees as they stepped off the bus, weeping as they kissed the cold pavement. They were greeted by tearful relatives before traveling on to their homes throughout the West Bank.
...
Also among those released were 111 Palestinians from Gaza who were rounded up after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza. They had been detained without trial. The Red Cross brought them to the European Hospital in Gaza’s southern town of Khan Younis, where scores of people poured into the streets in celebration.
The article focuses entirely on these criminals, as well as the jubilation from their family members.
BBC's obituary of Ismail Haniyeh 👇
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) July 31, 2024
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
AP News, are you kidding? A person behind a suicide bombing is a terrorist. It's not a "difference of opinion."@APNews Shameful reporting. pic.twitter.com/dfr56MFBzd
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) February 9, 2025
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