The release of the three hostages Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas, and Ofer Calderon from Hamas was covered throughout the past weekend by major media outlets worldwide.
During reports about the publication of the names of the three men to be released in the fourth phase, BBC news presenter Nicky Schiller referred to Keith, Ofer, and Yarden as "Israeli prisoners." Several hours later, an apology was read live on air: "Earlier today we reported on the names of three Israeli hostages due to be released. At one point during the coverage, we referred to the hostages as 'prisoners' and we want to apologize for that."
This is not the first time the British broadcaster has had to apologize for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. In January 2024, the BBC issued an apology after quoting a Hamas statement claiming that "the IDF carried out executions in Gaza." They stated then, "We did not make sufficient effort to seek evidence justifying the reporting of Hamas's claim." In the first months of the war, the BBC received hundreds of complaints about biased coverage after some channel presenters refused to call members of the terrorist organization "militants" or "terrorists."
