BBC reviews 53 Gaza ‘journalists’ over possible terrorist ties
The British Broadcasting Corporation is reviewing a list of 53 “journalists” killed while reporting on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to determine whether some had ties to terrorist organizations, according to a report published this week by the British newspaper The Telegraph.
The review was reportedly prompted in part by the fact that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations declared some of the individuals to be “martyrs” after their deaths.
BBC Arabic maintained a running tally of individuals it described as “journalists” who were killed while “reporting on the war in Gaza” following the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023. The list continued to be updated until August 2025, when it contained more than 180 names, according to The Telegraph.
Of the 53 individuals reportedly claimed by terrorist organizations as “martyrs,” 10 were identified as journalists by both BBC Arabic and the English-language BBC, while the remaining 43 were listed as “journalists” only by BBC Arabic.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S.-based organization that advocates for journalists working in conflict zones, has removed 12 of the names from its own list of journalist casualties.
According to The Telegraph, CPJ removed the names after reviewing evidence that some of the individuals were openly affiliated with terrorist organizations and that some had participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
One of those individuals was Abdullah Darwish, whom BBC Arabic described as a cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV. According to the Telegraph, CPJ found photographs of Darwish wearing a uniform associated with Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, along with information indicating that he participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Another individual removed from the CPJ list was Yaqoub Al-Barsh, whom BBC Arabic described as the executive director of Namaa radio. According to the report, evidence also identified him as an active member of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The Telegraph report cited at least 20 other names on the list of deceased “journalists” who have reportedly been identified as members of terrorist organizations.
They include Mohammed Al-Zaq, whose obituary was published by Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Mustafa Bakir, whom Hamas described as a field commander; and Abdullah Iyad Baris, whom Hamas described as a “knight” in its Khan Yunis Brigade.
Other individuals on the list reportedly posted photographs of themselves online carrying weapons and wearing military uniforms.
The controversy comes amid longstanding criticism of the BBC’s coverage of Israel and the Gaza war from Israel and its supporters, who have accused the broadcaster of anti-Israel bias.
An internal BBC report last November, according to previous reporting, concluded that BBC Arabic had deliberately chosen to “minimize Israeli suffering” in its coverage of the war in Gaza in a way that portrayed Israel as the aggressor.
Other reports have also criticized BBC Arabic’s commentary and editorial programming, including its use of guests who have previously made statements about Jews or Israel that critics have described as antisemitic or inflammatory.
This article was originally published by All Israel News.
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