Readers of BBC News website reports concerning the war caused by the October 7th 2023 Hamas-led invasion of Israel cannot have failed to notice the very frequent appearance of a wording formula along the following lines:
“The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 69,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.”
That particular example is found in a report published on November 11th 2025 but the same wording formula has been evident for over two years, with a few random examples including the following:
“Hamas killed an estimated 1,200 people inside Israel on 7 October – many of them civilians – and took more than 200 others hostage.
Israel’s response inside Gaza has killed more than 11,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It says that figure includes more than 4,500 children.” [November 12th, 2023]
“Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage.
More than 34,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.” [May 9th, 2024]
“Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas after the group’s attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which left about 1,200 people dead; 251 others were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 43,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.” [November 13th, 2024]
“Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 52,928 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 2,799 since the Israeli offensive resumed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.” [May 14th, 2025]
As we see, that wording formula displays an interesting phenomenon: while the number of people reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip rises over time according to updated information provided by the Hamas-run health ministry, the portrayal of Israeli casualties stays static, reflecting only what was known not long after the massacre on October 7th 2023.
Of course the Hamas-sourced figures that the BBC quotes and promotes do not differentiate between civilians and combatants because that has been Hamas policy since at least 2014. In other words, the BBC regularly updates its reporting of the death toll in the Gaza Strip while knowing full well that the figures include terrorist combatants.
In contrast, the BBC refrains from inserting into that widely used wording formulation any information concerning Israeli casualties since October 7th 2023.
As of mid-November 2025, a total of 471 Israeli soldiers have fallen in combat since ground operations in the Gaza Strip began on October 27th, 2023.
Similarly, while the BBC’s standard wording tells audiences that “251 others were taken hostage”, it does not clarify that 166 of them have since been freed or rescued or that 85 of those hostages have been confirmed deceased or killed in captivity, including three who remain in the Gaza Strip at the time of writing.
The obvious question that arises is why the BBC makes sure to update its reporting of casualty figures in the Gaza Strip whenever new data becomes available but has made no effort to similarly bring its accompanying portrayal of Israeli casualties up to date.
Just shows the true loyalty of the corrupt pro Islamist BBC, go for the jugular Donald and close the BBC News department down. #defundthebbc