BBC headlines ‘three times more likely to hold Israel to account than Hamas’

The study, first reported by The Telegraph on Sunday, also found that during the 24-month period, 45 headlines referenced claims of genocide, famine or starvation inside Gaza. In contrast, war crimes committed by Hamas were referenced just once.

Similarly, only one headline focused on a series of filmed public executions carried out by Hamas, compared with 33 headlines in two months promoting claims that Israeli forces killed civilians seeking food at Gaza aid sites.

The findings come as the national broadcaster faces growing pressure over alleged anti-Israel bias, particularly on its BBC Arabic channel.

Following the leaked Michael Prescott report, which also found an error in the reporting of a Donald Trump speech, three members of the BBC board will be grilled on Monday by MPs on the culture, media and sport select committee.

Danny Cohen, the former Director of BBC Television, told the Telegraph that Camera’s latest findings were “shocking but also unsurprising when you consider the influence of BBC Arabic, the BBC’s most toxic open secret.

“The absence of transparency about the BBC’s failures is deepening the anguish of British Jews and feeding the increasingly hostile atmosphere they face in this country. It is impossible to ignore the link between what dominates our news feeds and the climate on our streets.”

Across the two years of BBC News coverage analysed by Camera, critical headlines about Israel outweighed those critical of Hamas in all but three months – the first being October 2023. By November 2023, scrutiny of Israel’s military actions had overtaken critical reporting of Hamas from the previous month.

Throughout 2024, BBC News headlines focused more on Israel’s actions than on those of Hamas, according to Camera.

Only in January and February 2025 did critical headlines about Hamas exceed those about Israel. This period coincided with the beginning of a ceasefire, and Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas’s staged handovers of hostages drew widespread condemnation, as did the malnourished condition of some released men. BBC headlines, however, downplayed this reaction, according to Camera, with just one referring to a “carefully staged handover” and another describing hostages as appearing “gaunt”.

Camera also accused the broadcaster of “downplaying” the false claims about the return of the body of the kidnapped Israeli mother Shiri Bibas, and the confirmation that her two children had been murdered and their bodies mutilated.

The BBC headline on the story read: “Hamas failure to return body is new ceasefire setback” and “Israel says forensics show Bibas children killed by captors”.

This tone reflected the broadcaster’s coverage of the October 7 atrocities more broadly, Camera argued. The watchdog claimed that BBC headlines were "almost entirely absent of emotive language” and often focused more on Israel’s anticipated response.

One headline on the day of the attack read: “PM says Israel at war after 250 killed in attack from Gaza.” Another stated: “Hamas attack shocks Israel, but what comes next?”

A day later, BBC News headlines included: “How Hamas staged attack no one thought possible,” and “Gaza hospital deluged as Israel retaliation kills and wounds hundreds.”

The watchdog claimed that in contrast, the broadcast used the “emotive language of others” in stories about Gaza.

Quotes that featured in headlines included descriptions of Gaza as being like “an atomic bomb has dropped”, a “warzone on steroids”, a “killing field,” a “conveyor belt of carnage” and “worse than hell on earth”.

Meanwhile headlines routinely referred to Hamas fighters as “militants” or “gunmen” rather than terrorists, even when quoting sources, Camera found.

The watchdog also drew attention to headlines that gave considerable weight to claims that civilians were being killed at aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). In a two-month period, there were 33 separate headlines highlighting these claims – whereas there were just two headlines over the same time period covering the murder and attacks of aid workers at GHF sites by Hamas.

The watchdog also analysed specific correspondents’ stories. While headlines are often written by editors, Camera found that more than half of those attached to international editor Jeremy Bowen’s coverage of the conflict were critical of Israel. Of the 60 articles he wrote, 33 had headlines holding Israel to account, while just three focused on Hamas.

Of 35 stories written by special correspondent Fergal Keane, 29 had headlines critical of Israel and six were neutral; none held Hamas to account. Of Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell’s 85 stories, 41 had headlines critical of Israel and 12 of Hamas.

Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf wrote 110 stories, of which 53 had headlines critical of Israel and 20 critical of Hamas. David Gritten, on the BBC’s Middle East desk, wrote 253 articles: 139 had headlines holding Israel to account, compared with 30 that criticised Hamas.

Hadar Sela, spokeswoman for Camera UK, said: “News headlines, of course, are not the whole of the story but they do give a sense of the main focus of an article.

“It is clear from our analysis that just one month after those horrific Hamas atrocities, the focus for BBC News had quickly shifted to holding Israel to account. Since then, we have seen the constant promotion of anti-Israel narratives over impartial reporting in these headlines.

“Unsubstantiated claims of Israel committing genocide, of starving the people of Gaza and killing civilians as they queued for aid are a near constant feature of these headlines – while the robust denials of these charges are all too often buried at the bottom of the article.

“In contrast, the evidence that Hamas filmed and put out for the world to see – evidence of hundreds of young festival goers brutally murdered, whole families living in kibbutzim being slaughtered, of hostages dragged from friends or relatives to the hell of the Hamas terror tunnels to be starved and beaten – they feature far less in headlines. For every one headline that is critical of Hamas, there are three that hold Israel to account.

“For two years, BBC News headlines have displayed an almost naïve acceptance of any claim made by Hamas, while treating statements made by Israel with the utmost scepticism.

“Such blatant bias has helped fuel a surge in antisemitism within the UK and turned Britain into a hostile environment for the Jewish community.”

Responding to the findings, a BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC is committed to reporting this challenging and polarising conflict impartially, accurately and to the highest standards of journalism.

“As Camera identify, it is not possible to draw wider conclusions on the BBC’s coverage of the conflict or on our due impartiality from headlines alone. We report without fear or favour, and do so without an agenda. If Camera have complaints about our coverage, we will consider them in line with our established process and will respond accordingly.”