The BBC is reviewing a BBC Arabic list of journalists killed in the Gaza war after a Telegraph investigation found that 53 of the people named were later claimed by Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations as their members.
BBC Arabic began publishing and regularly updating the list after Hamas's October 7 massacre. It was last updated in August 2025 and includes more than 180 Palestinians, the 53 among them. Ten of the 53 were also described as journalists on the English-language BBC News website, while the remaining 43 appeared only on BBC Arabic.
According to the Telegraph, 21 of those listed appear in online material armed and wearing combat fatigues. Another 20 were the subject of death notices published by terror organizations, including Mohammed al-Zaq, commemorated by Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Mustafa Bakir, whom Hamas described as a field commander; and Abdullah Iyad Baris, whom Hamas described as a "knight" of its Khan Yunis Brigade.
One of the names, Abdullah Darwish, was described by BBC Arabic as a cameraman for Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV. The Committee to Protect Journalists removed him from its own casualty list after photos surfaced showing him in the uniform of Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades, and the Telegraph reported that he took part in the October 7 attack. In total, CPJ has removed 12 of the 53 from its list.
A BBC spokesperson said the list covered journalist deaths across the conflict in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel regardless of the political affiliation of their media outlets, and that the broadcaster is now reviewing whether to include the individuals in question.
British shadow culture secretary Rebecca Paul told the Telegraph the findings reflect a long-running impartiality and accountability problem at BBC Arabic, saying that given the BBC's vast journalistic resources, "this is simply not good enough."
The findings highlight a recurring problem in counting media casualties in Gaza, where many local outlets, including Al-Aqsa TV, operate as arms of Hamas and the line between journalist and terror operative is often blurred. Israel has long warned that Hamas members posing as members of the press have been counted among journalist casualties.
It is not the first controversy for the broadcaster over its Gaza coverage. The BBC previously acknowledged that its BBC Two documentary "Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone" was narrated by the son of a senior official in the Hamas-run Gaza administration, and British regulator Ofcom later found the film materially misleading.
