Overview
- The Audiences team email, circulated around the two-year anniversary, described the Hamas assault as “escalations” and used a Gaza rubble photo rather than images of Israeli victims.
- A BBC spokesperson said the message “should have been worded differently,” apologized for offence caused, and said the intranet text would be replaced.
- Survivors and relatives, including Natalie Sanandaji and Adam Ma’anit, called the phrasing insulting and said it downplayed the October 7 atrocities that killed more than 1,200 people.
- Reports said the note was written by a junior staffer, and a BBC source explained the Gaza image was chosen because the update discussed current audience attitudes to the conflict.
- The episode adds to sustained scrutiny of the corporation’s Israel‑Gaza coverage, following earlier corrections and apologies over hospital reporting, Shifa Hospital attribution, casualty characterization, and a removed Gaza documentary.