Previously we documented significant omissions in some of the entries in a BBC Arabic report titled “Learn about the most prominent journalists killed in the Gaza war” written by Layla Bashar al-Kloub which originally appeared in October 2023 and was subsequently updated several times.
BBC FAILS TO UPDATE REPORTS ON THE DEATHS OF JOURNALISTS
In August 2025 BBC Arabic published another report by al-Kloub titled “Who are the most prominent journalists killed in the Gaza war since 2024?” which opens by telling readers that: [emphasis added]
“The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has been ongoing for more than 22 months, and this war continues to claim the lives of those working on the front lines in the field.
Among the most prominent victims are journalists who paid with their lives for reporting the truth. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 190 journalists and media workers have been killed so far during the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Israel. Other journalists have lost family members. The Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) network, in its “Gaza Project” investigation, notes that this number exceeds the number killed during six years of World War II.”
Among the names on al-Kloub’s list are five men described as working for the same media outlet who were killed on the same day:
Eight months earlier, on December 27th 2024, the same five names had appeared in a BBC News website English language report by Raffi Berg and Emir Nader which, after amendment, is headlined “Five Gaza journalists killed in Israeli strike targeting armed group”.
“A Palestinian TV channel says five of its journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip.
They were in a Quds Today van parked outside al-Awda hospital, where the wife of one of the journalists was about to give birth, in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
The channel posted a video of what it said was the burning vehicle with “press” signage on the back doors.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had targeted “Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists” and that steps were taken to avoid harming civilians.
The BBC has not been able to verify claims made by either side, with international media being prevented by Israel from entering and freely working on the ground in Gaza. […]
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was “devastated by the reports” of five journalists being killed in the central Gaza Strip.
“Journalists are civilians and must always be protected,” it said.
The Israeli military named the five killed as Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali; Faisal Abdallah Muhammad Abu Qamsan; Mohammed Ayad Khamis al-Ladaa; Ayman Nihad Abd Alrahman Jadi; and Fadi Ihab Muhammad Ramadan Hassouna.
It said “intelligence from multiple sources confirmed” that all were PIJ operatives, and that a list found during an operation in Gaza “explicitly identified four” of them as such.
In a statement, Quds Today said the men “were killed as they carried out their media and humanitarian duty”.
As of 20 December, at least 133 Palestinian journalists have been killed during the course of the war, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists, according to the CPJ.
The press freedom organisation has called for accountability for Palestinian journalists who have been directly targeted by the Israeli military.”
The IDF had indeed released information concerning the targets on the day of the strike.
Despite admitting that it had “not been able to verify claims made by either side”, the BBC nevertheless chose to run a headline stating “Five Gaza journalists killed”, to amplify messaging from the CPJ and the PIJ terror group’s media outlet and then to include those names on a list published by BBC Arabic eight months later.
On May 20th 2026, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad published another list of dead commanders which includes the name Ibrahim Jamal Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali.
Unsurprisingly, the BBC News website and BBC Arabic have yet to amend their respective reports to clarify that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has acknowledged that – as stated by the IDF on the day of the strike – at least one of those “five Gaza journalists” was an operative with the terrorist group.
As noted previously, the BBC has yet to display any interest in updating its extensive reporting on the deaths of people it describes as journalists even after information concerning terrorist affiliations or links has emerged in a significant number of cases.
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