BBC apologizes for saying pro-Palestine demonstrators were ‘backing’ Hamas

The BBC issued an apology for the way it characterized demonstrations supporting Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

“Earlier we reported on some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend,” Maryam Moshiri, the chief presenter at BBC News, wrote in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“We spoke about ‘several demonstrations across Britain during which people voiced their backing for Hamas.’ We accept this was poorly phrased and was a misleading description of the demonstrations.”

The apology was also read on the BBC’s air live Tuesday.

Since the attack on Israel carried out by Hamas last weekend, news organizations have deployed dozens of journalists to the region to cover the breaking news of the daily shelling and fighting between the two sides.

Hundreds of Israelis were killed in the initial attack by Hamas militants, who stormed a music festival and border villages. Hundreds of Palestinians, including civilians, have since been killed by intense Israeli retaliatory airstrikes.

The violence has sparked public demonstrations across the world, some in support of Palestine or Israel, and others calling for peace, as well as controversies over how public institutions like universities respond to the crisis.

News organizations have also grappled with the complicated dynamics involved in covering the fallout from the violence, and concerns about the bloodshed that lies ahead.

In an essay last week, a top editor at the BBC defended the outlet’s use of the word “militant” instead of “terrorist” to describe Hamas, which the U.S. government has for years designated as a terrorist organization.