BBC headline claim on October 7 deaths is clear disinformation and a dangerous deception

Text of complaint to the BBC (3 November 2023) about the deceptive use of its headline statement on the deaths within Israel on and around 7 October:

   

The BBC introduce and annotate every news report with the words:

“Israel began its operation after Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel”.

(For example, 1 and 3 November 2023.)

Whatever one thinks about what happened on and around 7 October, this statement is false, a clear case of BBC disinformation. 

Whilst there is little doubt that Hamas and other resistance groups were responsible for a large proportion of deaths, there is strong evidence to suggest that Israeli forces were also responsible for substantive numbers of those killed. This must be accounted for. 

The entire account of how all these deaths occurred, showing all those involved, must be told as a matter of public information and historical record. 

Please consider the following as a key compendium of Israeli civilian and military witness statements and media references, undermining official Israeli claims and the repeated BBC headline that “Hamas [alone] killed more than 1400 people”. 

The BBC’s consistent use of this inaccurate statement avoids the full story behind these events, offering no serious understanding or clarity for those affected. 

Most disturbingly, the claim has been used to validate Israel’s illegal attack on Gaza, resulting in the killing of over 9,000 people, nearly half of them children, and displacement of an entire population, actions described by a leading UN figure as "a textbook case of genocide." 

In presenting this false picture about 7 October, the BBC has served to condition public support for Israel's mass killing and genocidal actions. Given the strong body of evidence now questioning Israel’s claims of sole Hamas responsibility, the BBC should withdraw this statement and issue a corrective explanation.

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Further reading:

Max Blumenthal (Grayzone News): 'October 7 testimonies reveal Israel’s military ‘shelling’ Israeli citizens with tanks, missiles'

Jonathan Cook: What the BBC fails to tell you about October 7

Asa Winstanley: Watch the video about 7 October YouTube doesn’t want you to see 

Ali Abunimah and David Sheen: Israeli forces shot their own civilians, kibbutz survivor says

Robert Inlakesh and Sharmine Narwani (The Cradle): What really happened on 7th October?

Matt Kennard (tweet) on "textbook case of genocide."