BBC’s Jeremy Bowen defends use of Hamas casualty figures in Gaza

BBC international editor, Jeremy Bowen, responded to the Asserson Report, which accused the British news network of 1,553 breaches of its own guidelines in its news coverage of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Bowen responded by defending the unquestioned use of Hamas casualty figures in Gaza.

During a BBC Masterclass on “reporting war impartially” earlier this month, the veteran reporter claimed that the lawyers and data scientists’ detailed report into Israel-Gaza coverage was a “deeply flawed document,” in a recording obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

Researchers analyzed nine million words of BBC output during the four months following the Hamas invasion, massacres and kidnappings of Israelis on Oct. 7. In addition to the “deeply worrying pattern of bias” against Israel, Bowen himself is alleged to have excused Hamas terrorism and compared the State of Israel with Russia.

Former BBC executive, Danny Cohen, told the Jewish Chronicle he was “surprised” Bowen had placed such confidence in figures released by Hamas, adding: “The corporation does not seem to have taken the time to diligently read the Asserson Report and consider its findings before forming its position. This is symptomatic of the BBC’s ultra-defensive response to evidence of its anti-Israel bias.”

Since Hamas launched the war against Israel on October 7, the UN has been forced to admit that its initial published figures – provided by Hamas-controlled health and information ministries – were 50% incorrect.

In addition, several academic reports have exposed the faulty figures, while military experts have testified to the relatively low civilian-to-combatant ratio – around 1.2 or 1.3 to 1 – compared to other sophisticated military campaigns of complicated urban warfare.

One issue with the BBC's coverage has been the lack of distinction between civilians and combatants among the casualties in Gaza. There has been limited coverage of Hamas' alleged use of civilians as human shields, and virtually no mention of damage to the Gaza Strip from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) misfired rockets.

The BBC's coverage faced scrutiny after it erroneously reported that the IDF had bombed the Al-Ahli Hospital. Jeremy Bowen later acknowledged this error but maintained he didn't "regret one thing" in his reporting. The BBC has subsequently admitted to additional inaccuracies in its coverage of the conflict.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) UK’s co-editor Hadar Sela told ALL ISRAEL NEWS: “CAMERA UK and CAMERA Arabic are pleased to have contributed to The Asserson Report. Its detailed findings raise serious issues which sadly did not begin with the current war but have marred BBC coverage of Israel for years, such as the lack of adequate oversight of Arabic language content and the failure to report accurately and impartially on Palestinian terrorism.”

Sela added: “As a licence fee funded body, the BBC is accountable to the British public. An independent investigation into its adherence to editorial standards is therefore imperative if trust in the UK’s national broadcaster is to be restored.”

As early as 2004, the BBC was under investigation for its coverage of Israel, and Malcolm Balen’s internal report was commissioned. The results have never been published, but the latest exposure has led to renewed calls for transparency.

“Whatever those findings were, I do think that the BBC, as a provider of a major public service, has a responsibility to share the report and its conclusions with everyone,” Gary Mond, chairman of the National Jewish Assembly, told the Telegraph, which reported in 2011 that the corporation had already spent more than £270,000 (over $360,000) on legal fees to prevent the publication.

Lord Austin, a crossbench peer in the UK’s unelected House of Lords, said: “The findings of the Asserson Report are only the latest evidence of the BBC’s longstanding and deep-lying bias in its coverage of Israel.

“Jeremy Bowen seems unable to acknowledge these editorial failings. If director-general Tim Davie is serious in his pledge to consider a deep systematic review of the BBC’s Middle East coverage, Mr Bowen’s deeply concerning track record should be right at the top of the agenda.”