In some cases, the evidence went considerably further than affiliation with a Hamas-linked media outlet.
By United with Israel Staff
Dozens of Gazans presented by the BBC as journalists killed during the war were allegedly linked to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations, according to a new investigation by Britain’s Telegraph that is raising fresh questions about the broadcaster’s coverage of Gaza.
The investigation identified 53 people described as journalists in BBC reports despite evidence allegedly tying them to terrorist groups or armed activity. Some were photographed carrying weapons or wearing military gear, while others were openly mourned by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad after their deaths.
Most of the cases appeared on BBC Arabic, where 43 of the 53 were identified as journalists. The remaining 10 were also described as journalists by the BBC’s English-language news service.
In some cases, the evidence went considerably further than affiliation with a Hamas-linked media outlet.
Abdullah Darwish, for example, was described by the BBC as a cameraman for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV. According to the Telegraph, Darwish participated in the October 7 massacre as a member of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and was photographed wearing the terror group’s distinctive green headband. He was killed in an Israeli strike in December 2023.
Another man, Rizq Abu Shakian, was identified by the BBC as a journalist for Palestine Now. The Telegraph reported that footage posted online showed him dressed in a Hamas uniform and carrying an automatic rifle.
Ahmed Abu Skheil, another man identified as a journalist in BBC reporting, was photographed holding an AK-47 and was later commemorated as a “martyr” by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Overall, the investigation found that terrorist organizations had published death notices for 20 of the 53 people the BBC described as journalists.
The findings echo a warning Israel has made repeatedly throughout the war: that some individuals operating under the banner of journalism in Gaza have simultaneously held roles in terrorist organizations.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has previously said that documents recovered in Gaza exposed alleged Hamas and Islamic Jihad affiliations among people publicly presented as journalists. The ministry has pointed to personnel lists, terrorist training records, telephone directories and salary documents as evidence in specific cases.
“Israel does not target journalists,” the ministry said in an earlier response to Ireland’s National Union of Journalists, while arguing that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have used journalistic cover for their operatives.
Questions about some of those counted as journalists have also prompted the Committee to Protect Journalists to reassess its own casualty database.
Following a broad review, CPJ said 22 people were removed from its database, six were reinstated and 12 were reclassified. The organization says political affiliation or employment by a partisan media outlet does not by itself disqualify someone from being considered a journalist, but individuals found to have been actively engaged in combat are excluded under its methodology.
The latest revelations add to a series of controversies surrounding the BBC’s coverage of the Gaza war.
Last year, the broadcaster was forced to pull its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” after it emerged that the film’s young narrator was the son of an official in Gaza’s Hamas-run administration, a connection that had not been disclosed to viewers.
British media regulator Ofcom later found the documentary “materially misleading,” ruling that viewers should have been told about the family connection.
The BBC has also faced criticism over aspects of BBC Arabic’s war coverage, while the broadcaster has maintained that it is committed to impartial reporting.
Responding to the Telegraph investigation, the BBC said the list in question had last been updated in August 2025 and included journalists killed during the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel regardless of the political affiliations of the media organizations for which they worked.
The broadcaster said its reporting was based on the information available at the time, but acknowledged that the subsequent findings warranted another look.
“In light of the CPJ update in June 2026, we are reviewing those included in the article,” a BBC spokesperson said.
The dispute reflects a wider battle over how Gaza war casualties are categorized. Press freedom groups say the conflict has taken an extraordinary toll on Palestinian journalists and media workers. Israel, however, has argued that some casualty counts have failed to adequately distinguish between journalists and terrorist operatives who also performed media work.
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