In parts one and two of this post we documented BBC News website coverage of the first twenty days of Operation Protective Edge. Part three relates to the next ten days: July 28th to August 6th 2014 inclusive.
Content on the website included written news reports and written ‘Features and Analysis’ articles as well as filmed items presented as stand-alone reports and additionally often embedded into the written articles. Those filmed items also appeared on BBC television news programmes and hence give us an idea of what worldwide audiences were being shown and to what extent the BBC lived up to its claims of “equal coverage” of the two sides to the conflict.
A small amount of content which appeared on the BBC News website at the time has since become unavailable, but below are the vast majority of the reports offered to the website’s visitors. We are not including here the many reports concerning demonstrations relating to the conflict in Europe and elsewhere which appeared on the Middle East page: that topic will be covered separately.
Written:
Gaza crisis: UN calls for immediate ceasefire
Gaza: Uneasy calm after UN ceasefire call
Gaza in critical condition, says UN’s Ban Ki-moon (discussed here)
Features:
US-Israel relations tested by Kerry shuttle diplomacy Suzanne Kianpour
Filmed:
Israel tells UN ‘we are fighting terrorism’ Ron Prosor
Riyad Mansour: ‘We want to see fundamental changes’ Riyad Mansour
Gaza crisis: Lull in violence as Palestinians mark Eid Martin Patience in Gaza
Gaza conflict: Uneasy calm after UN ceasefire call Martin Patience in Gaza
Gaza crisis: Kerry urges ‘humanitarian’ ceasefire John Kerry
Middle East crisis: Children pay heavy price in Gaza Ian Pannell in Gaza (discussed here)
Hamas: ‘We are getting killed but we won’t give up’ Ian Pannell interview with Ehab Al Ghossein (discussed here)
Ten Israeli soldiers killed in attacks Orla Guerin in Israel
Netanyahu: ‘We need to be prepared for a prolonged campaign’ PM Netanyahu
Deadly blasts hit Gaza and Israel after lull in violence Chris Morris in Gaza
Written:
Gaza City and Israel’s Eshkol hit by deadly blasts (discussed here)
Israel PM Netanyahu warns of ‘prolonged’ Gaza campaign (discussed here)
Israel intensifies Gaza attacks after Netanyahu warning
Turkey PM Erdogan returns US Jewish award in Israel row
Features:
In pictures: Gaza hit again after ‘heaviest night’
Filmed:
Strike hits Gaza media building Gaza
Israeli air strike hits ‘Hamas media building’ in Gaza Emily Thomas Gaza
West Bank Palestinians politically divided, but united in anger Jon Donnison in Beit Ummar (discussed here)
Gaza’s power station ‘hit by Israeli shelling’ Chris Morris and Martin Patience in Gaza
Gaza bombardment kills at least 100 Ian Pannell in Gaza
Middle East crisis: Tel Aviv resident on living with conflict
Middle East crisis: Air strikes fill Gaza skyline with smoke Matthew Amroliwala Gaza
Gaza crisis: Inside militants’ tunnel Orla Guerin in Israel
Middle East crisis: BBC at Gaza mosque ruins Chris Morris in Gaza (edited Oct 7 – discussed here)
Middle East crisis: Israeli air strikes across Gaza Chris Morris in Gaza
Written:
Gaza conflict: Hamas vows no Israel ceasefire
Gaza conflict: UN accuses Israel over Jabaliya attack
Gaza conflict: ‘Israeli market strike kills 17’
Features:
Conflicted UN struggles in global peace efforts Nick Bryant
Filmed:
Gaza conflict: Is there hope for a ceasefire? James Robbins (discussed here)
‘Gaza children killed as they slept’ in UN-run school Chris Gunness UNRWA
Gaza: ‘Terrible scene’ in UN-run school hit by Israeli fire Chris Morris in Gaza
Gaza crisis: Israel’s military strategy Orla Guerin in Israel (discussed here)
Gaza conflict: ‘Israeli market strike kills 15’ Martin Patience in Gaza
Gaza conflict: UN accuses Israel over Jabaliya attack Chris Morris in Gaza
Gaza school: ‘Israel does not target UN facilities’ says IDF Lt Col Peter Lerner
Written:
Gaza conflict: Israel to investigate school shelling
Gaza conflict: Israel calls up 16,000 reserve soldiers
Israel ‘to destroy’ Hamas Gaza tunnels – Netanyahu
Israeli Iron Dome firms ‘infiltrated by Chinese hackers’
Features:
Gaza conflict: Disputed deadly incidents later amended and date changed. (discussed here)
Gaza-Israel conflict: Is the fighting over? later amended and date changed.
Filmed:
Gaza crisis: Families grieve UN school dead Ian Pannell in Gaza
Mark Regev: ‘If we find that it was errant fire from Israel I’m sure we will apologise’ Mark Regev
Quarter of Gaza population displaced, says UN Martin Patience in Gaza
Families forced to stay in Gaza’s shelled UN school Martin Patience in Gaza
Gaza crisis: UN representatives give their views Ron Prosor & Riyad Mansour
Israeli opposition leader backs action against Hamas Yitzhak Hertzog
Gaza crisis: UN says Israel must protect civilians or cease fire Pierre Krahenbuhl UNRWA
Gaza crisis: UN announces Israel and Hamas ceasefire UN
Gaza displaced ‘near breaking point’ – UN Ian Pannell in Gaza
Gaza crisis: Israel attacks ‘not accidental’, claims UN Navi Pillay
Gaza crisis: Israel releases ‘aborted airstrike’ video Orla Guerin in Israel (discussed here)
Written: (discussed here)
Gaza 72-hour humanitarian truce by Israel and Hamas begins
Israel to resume Gaza operation as truce with Hamas crumbles
Gaza militants ‘seize Israeli soldier’ as ceasefire ends
Live page:
As it happened: Israel soldier ‘captured’
Features:
In pictures: Israel-Hamas ceasefire collapses
Are captured soldiers Israel’s weak spot? James Reynolds
Filmed: (discussed here)
John Kerry ‘Opportunity to find the solution’
‘Escalation’ warning by Israel after Gaza militants ‘seize Israeli soldier’ Mark Regev
Israel to resume Gaza operation as truce with Hamas crumbles Martin Patience in Gaza
Israel and Hamas 72-hour truce begins Jon Brain
Israeli soldier ‘captured’ by militants as ceasefire ends Orla Guerin in Israel
Palestinians return to gutted homes during brief ceasefire Ian Pannell in Gaza
Gaza militants ‘seize Israeli soldier’ as ceasefire ends Jon Donnison in Gaza
Hamas blamed by Israel for breakdown of Gaza truce Yigal Palmor
President Obama condemns kidnap of Israeli soldier
Gaza ceasefire collapses: What fate for talks? Nick Childs
Gaza crisis: ‘There was never a ceasefire’ – Fatah spokesman Hussam Zomlot
Written:
Gaza conflict: Hamas denies holding Israeli soldier (discussed here)
Gaza conflict: New exchanges amid Israeli soldier hunt
Gaza crisis: Israel ‘unlikely to go to talks in Egypt’
Israel PM Netanyahu: Gaza operation to go on
Israel attacks on Gaza ‘foolish’ and ‘disproportionate’ – Ashdown
Features:
Gaza: Mapping the human cost (later updated and date changed)
Filmed:
Gaza conflict: Hamas denies holding Israeli soldier Jon Brain (discussed here)
Middle East crisis: Fresh Gaza strikes amid soldier hunt Martin Patience in Gaza
Israeli forces continue search for soldier missing in Gaza Bethany Bell in Israel
Written:
Gaza conflict: Missing Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin ‘dead’ (discussed here)
Gaza crisis ‘intolerable’, says Philip Hammond (discussed here)
Gaza crisis: Deadly strike ‘at UN school in Rafah’ (discussed here)
Gaza crisis: Rafah school strike ‘criminal’ – UN chief
Filmed:
Israel says missing soldier Hadar Goldin is dead Jon Brain
Gaza conflict: Inside town bearing brunt of Israeli strikes Ian Pannell in Gaza
Middle East crisis: UN warns of Gaza health disaster Chris Gunness UNRWA
Gaza crisis: Chaos after deadly strike ‘at UN school’ Martin Patience in Gaza (discussed here)
Gaza crisis: BBC reports from Israeli staging post James Reynolds in Israel
Gaza conflict: BBC assesses Israel’s military campaign James Reynolds in Israel (discussed here)
Gaza crisis: Israel says no shells fell inside UN school Mark Regev
Written:
Gaza conflict: Israeli partial ceasefire slows violence
UN right to speak out on Gaza strike, says Cameron
Gaza conflict: France condemns Israel ‘massacre’
Gaza conflict: Israel ‘to pursue campaign’ as truce ends
British national ‘killed in Gaza’
Features:
Gaza conflict: Contrasting views on targeting (discussed here)
In pictures: Faces from Gaza Jon Donnison
Filmed:
Gaza crisis: Deadly strike at Rafah school Orla Guerin in Gaza
Gaza-Israel: What Egyptians make of crisis in Gaza Strip Mark Lowen
Gaza-Israel: Attacks on both sides of border despite ceasefire Martin Patience in Gaza & Bethany Bell in Israel
Gaza conflict: Reports of strike on Gaza amid truce Orla Guerin in Gaza
Gaza-Israel conflict: Reports of strike during Gaza ceasefire Martin Patience in Gaza
Israel: Suspected ‘attack’ on bus with digger in Jerusalem James Reynolds in Israel (discussed here)
Written:
Gaza conflict: Israel and Hamas ‘agree ceasefire’
Israel pulls troops out of Gaza
Gaza conflict: Truce holding after Israel withdraws
Gaza-Israel video games cause controversy
Baroness Warsi quits as Foreign Office minister over Gaza
Live page:
As it happened: Israel withdraws troops as Gaza truce begins
Features:
Israel’s operation in Gaza may be over, but no victor emerges Jonathan Marcus
Filmed:
Israel: Digger overturns bus in Jerusalem James Reynolds in Israel
Gaza truce holds as residents return to destroyed homes Jon Donnison in Gaza (discussed here)
Gaza-Israel: Palestinian National Initiative calls for end to ‘siege’ Mustafa Barghouti
Gaza: Egypt brokers truce as Israel withdraws troops Martin Patience in Gaza & Bethany Bell in Israel
Israel Defense Forces ‘are out of Gaza’ – Lt Col Peter Lerner
Gaza conflict: Has the way Gazans view Hamas changed? Orla Guerin in Gaza (discussed here)
Israel pulls troops out of Gaza Jon Donnison in Gaza
Written:
Gaza conflict: Kerry urges broader Israel-Palestinian talks
Gaza: Israeli-Palestinian indirect talks begin in Cairo
Palestinian arrested over murder of Israeli teenagers
David Cameron faces fresh Gaza pressure
Megadeth and CeeLo Green cancel Israel concerts
Filmed:
Gaza conflict: Kerry says both sides must compromise
Gaza conflict: Is Israel’s mission accomplished? James Robbins
Israeli PM Netanyahu news briefing
Gaza truce: Residents ‘homeless after fighting’ Orla Guerin in Gaza
Gaza crisis: Ceasefire holds on second day Jon Donnison in Gaza
Gaza conflict: Views from the Israel Gaza border Wyre Davies in Israel (text amended September 24th)
Between July 28th and August 6th inclusive, the predominant type of report appearing on the BBC News website’s Middle East page was written articles with a significant proportion of their headlines continuing to use the phrases “Gaza conflict” or “Gaza crisis” as though events were confined to the Gaza Strip. Notably, audiences saw increasing amounts of content relating to statements made by British politicians on the issue. Two live pages also appeared during this period of time and the majority of footage (five reports out of nine) of interviews or press conferences with others (not Israelis or Palestinians) focused on amplifying statements made by various UN officials with UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness being a frequent interviewee.
As was the case in the first twenty days of BBC coverage of the conflict, the total number of filmed reports describing the situation in Gaza promoted between July 28th and August 6th was once again more than double the number of filmed reports describing the situation in Israel and those reports continued to focus on emotive coverage of the effects of the conflict on the civilian population. Notably, the first on camera recognition of the fact that terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip were launching missiles into Israel from residential areas in the Gaza Strip came in an August 5th report – twenty-nine days after the conflict began.
By August 6th, visitors to the BBC News website (and television audiences) had seen 36.5 filmed reports from reporters on the ground in Israel compared to 88.5 filmed reports made by journalists on the ground in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the conflict.
Themes dominant in BBC reporting during that period were the amplification of Hamas’ pre-ceasefire demand for the lifting of border restrictions and particularly remarkable was the BBC’s adoption of the inaccurate Hamas terminology used to describe those restrictions: ‘siege’. Another theme promoted was that of increased Hamas popularity in the Gaza Strip. The BBC’s policy of ignoring Hamas’ use of human shields continued and incidents such as the deaths of ten people in Shati on July 28th – caused by misfired terrorist missiles – were presented to BBC audiences as “disputed”. The incidents which took place at or near UN schools during this time period were misleadingly presented to audiences as “deliberate”, “criminal” and intentional strikes on civilians. Not for the first time – or the last – the fact that Hamas breached ceasefires was concealed or downplayed.
Related articles:
BBC News website coverage of Operation Protective Edge: part one
BBC News website coverage of Operation Protective Edge: part two
BBC WS ‘Newshour’: a test case for BBC claims of ‘equal coverage’