BBC defends its Gaza reporting after White House accusation
The BBC on Wednesday, June 4, defended its reporting of an event during which Palestinians were killed near a Gaza aid center, after the White House accused the broadcaster of taking "the word of Hamas." Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people on Sunday near the US-backed aid center. The Israeli military, however, denied its troops had fired on civilians in or around the center, and both it and the aid center's administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumors.
Responding to a question about the event, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the BBC had to "correct and take down" its story. "The administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth," she said. "We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines," she said, citing stories that gave different death tolls. "And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying 'We reviewed the footage and couldn't find any evidence of anything'," she added.
'Normal practice'
But the BBC said the White House claims were not accurate and that it had not removed its story. "The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism," it said in a statement. It said headlines giving varying death tolls were "totally normal" journalistic practice due to the story being "updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources." It said the death tolls were always "clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of 'at least 21'", it added.
Leavitt also criticised the Washington Post for its reporting of the incident. The Post deleted one article over sourcing issues "because it and early versions of the article didn't meet Post fairness standards." "The article and headline were updated on Sunday evening making it clear that there was no consensus about who was responsible."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
EU backs 'cornerstone of international justice' after US sanctions ICC judges
The EU gave its backing on Friday to the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and EU member Slovenia said it would push Brussels to use its power to ensure the US sanctions could not be enforced in Europe. EU member France also said it was renewing its call on the US to withdraw all sanctions against the court. 'The ICC holds perpetrators of the world's gravest crimes to account and gives victims a voice. It must be free to act without pressure,' European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on social media platform X. Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, which represents national governments of the 27 member states, called the court 'a cornerstone of international justice' and said its independence and integrity must be protected. US President Donald Trump 's administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the ICC in retaliation for the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan. The US order names Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia. The US sanctions mean the judges are now on a list of specially designated sanctioned individuals. Any US assets they have will be blocked and they are put on an automated screening service used by not only American banks but many banks worldwide, making it very difficult for sanctioned persons to hold or open bank accounts or transfer money. Trump's initial order announcing sanctions on the ICC also said that US citizens who provide services for the benefit of sanctioned individuals could face civil and criminal penalties. France said on Friday it backed the International Criminal Court after Washington imposed sanctions on four ICC judges, and said it was renewing its call on the United States to withdraw all its sanctions against the court. "France expresses its solidarity with the judges targeted by this decision, and reaffirms its unwavering support for the ICC and its staff, whose role is essential in the fight against impunity," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Slovenia urges EU to block sanctions Slovenia urged the EU to use its blocking statute, which lets the EU ban European companies from complying with US sanctions that Brussels deems unlawful. The power has been used in the past to prevent Washington from banning European trade with Cuba and Iran. 'Due to the inclusion of a citizen of an EU member state on the sanctions list, Slovenia will propose the immediate activation of the blocking act,' Slovenia's foreign ministry said in a post on social media site X late on Thursday. ICC president Judge Tomoko Akane had urged the EU already in March this year to bring the ICC into the scope of the blocking statute. The new sanctions have been imposed at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier US sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a United Nations investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The court's governing body, which represents its 125 member states, on Friday condemned the US government's decision to retaliate against judges. 'These ... are regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel in the exercise of their independent judicial functions,' the Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties said.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
US-style blanket travel bans could be 'viable' in UK, says Tory leader
The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has indicated that a US-style blanket travel ban on foreign citizens could be "viable" in the United Kingdom, stressing that it should no longer be the "world's softest touch." The Leader of the Opposition said on Friday that Britain is being "mugged" by illegal migration, local media reported. She added "parliament needs to be able to decide who comes into the country, for how long and who needs to leave," explaining that this can be done through measures such as travel bans. "There are scenarios where this is viable." In a resurrection of his controversial first term "Muslim ban", Trump on Wednesday announced travel bans to the United States for citizens from 12 countries he has deemed "out of control." It will apply to people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The ban is set to go into effect on Monday and will bar nationals from these countries from entering the US unless they qualify for an exemption. Travel restrictions will also come into force for citizens of a further seven countries on the same day. However, Badenoch then went on to say she didn't fully support a Trump-style ban for the UK, adding that she hadn't seen which countries were affected. "That doesn't mean that I agree with what Donald Trump has done. I'm much more focused on…what's happening here." Badenoch made the remarks after a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in Westminster in which she launched a commission tasked with analysing leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The international human rights treaty between the 47 states which are members of the Council of Europe (CoE) protects the basic rights and freedoms of people. She argued that the UK had "lost control of the asylum system" and is "being blocked". Referring to the ECHR, she vowed to crackdown on "lawfare" which she said is obstructing border control and is used to stop migrant deportations. 'I have always said that if we need to leave the convention we should and having now considered the question closely I do believe that we will likely need to leave because I am yet to see a clear and coherent way to fix this within our current legal structures." Badenoch has enlisted a senior barrister to review the legalities surrounding the a potential UK withdrawal from the ECHR. The senior lawyer is expected to provide his report at the Tory party conference later this year, at which point the Tory leader will make a final decision on the ECHR "problem." However, she stressed she would not do so without a clear plan. Leader of the far-right Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, stated earlier this year that the first thing he would do as Prime Minister would be to withdraw the UK from the ECHR. Meanwhile, the current Labour government has ruled out leaving it. Last month, nine EU countries signed an open letter calling for the ECHR to be reinterpreted to allow for policy changes on migration. The signatories, who believe it should be easier to expel migrants who commit crimes, said the ECHR's interpretation of the convention should be examined. The CoE's Secretary Alain Berset criticised their politicising of the court. French President Emmanuel Macron allegedly claimed that African countries would be unable to "thrive without French involvement", according to a series of posts circulating on social media. "Africa remains the least developed continent, and history shows we have a role to play in supporting its growth. A complete withdrawal could halt progress', states a post supposedly quoting Macron, which has been viewed almost 700k times. A number of the posts which relay the claim feature the same press shot of Macron. By conducting a reverse image search and checking that results matched with the picture shared on social media, EuroVerify was able to match the photo with press shots taken at a European summit held in Brussels on 6 March 2025. An analysis of Macron's speech, as well as a further sweep of news reports and official statements made by the French President, yielded no evidence for the quotes attributed to him. Meanwhile, French diplomatic sources further refuted the quotes attributed to the French leader, branding them as "false.' A number of the social media accounts which attributed the statement to Macron have also shared pro-Russian propaganda and backed the Alliance of the Sahel States (AES). The AES is an alliance made up of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, countries which are all governed by military regimes that came to power following coups. It was formed after the West African bloc ECOWAS threatened to restore civilian rule in Niger through military intervention, after a coup ousted the country's president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023. Russia was the first country to recognise the alliance, as it works to expand its presence in Africa, while France has been progressively withdrawing its troops from the region, faced with increasing opposition against its military presence. Although this particular statement attributed to Macron may not be true, some of the French President's previous claims regarding France's involvement in Africa have sparked backlash from African leaders. For instance, in January leaders in Chad and Senegal accused Macron of showing contempt, after he declared that West African leaders had forgotten to "thank" France for helping to combat Islamist militants in the Sahel region. Since 2022, France has been progressively withdrawing its troops from West Africa due to opposition against French military presence in the region.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
'No Eid' for West Bank Palestinians who lost sons in Israeli raids
The Israeli army has conducted a months-long operation in the camp which has forced Ghazzawi, along with thousands of other residents, from her home. For Ghazzawi, the few precious minutes she spent at her sons' graves still felt like a small victory. "On the last Eid (Eid al-Fitr, celebrating the end of Ramadan in March), they raided us. They even shot at us. But this Eid, there was no shooting, just that they kicked us out of the cemetery twice", the 48-year-old told AFP. "We were able to visit our land, clean up around the graves, and pour rosewater and cologne on them", she added. Eid al-Adha, which begins on Friday, is one of the biggest holidays in the Muslim calendar. According to Muslim tradition, it commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim (known to Christians and Jews as Abraham) was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. As part of the celebrations, families traditionally visit the graves of their loved ones. In the Jenin camp cemetery, women and men had brought flowers for their deceased relatives, and many sat on the side of their loved ones' graves as they remembered the dead, clearing away weeds and dust. An armoured car arrived at the site shortly after, unloading soldiers to clear the cemetery of its mourners who walked away solemnly without protest. Ghazzawi's two sons, Mohammad and Basel, were killed in January 2024 in a Jenin hospital by undercover Israeli troops. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the two brothers as its fighters after their deaths. Like Ghazzawi, many in Jenin mourned sons killed during one of the numerous Israeli operations that have targeted the city, a known bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting Israel. -'There is no Eid'- In the current months-long military operation in the north of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, Israeli forces looking for militants have cleared three refugee camps and deployed tanks in Jenin. Mohammad Abu Hjab, 51, went to the cemetery on the other side of the city to visit the grave of his son, killed in January by an Israeli strike that also killed five other people. "There is no Eid. I lost my son -- how can it be Eid for me?" he asked as he stood by the six small gravestones of the dead young men. The Israeli military did not offer details at the time but said it had carried out "an attack in the Jenin area". "There's no accountability, no oversight", lamented Abu Hjab. "One of the victims (of the strike) was just a kid, born in 2008 -— so he was only 16 years old." "I still have three other children. I live 24 hours a day with no peace of mind", he added, referring to the army's continued presence in Jenin. All around him, families sat or stood around graves at Jenin's eastern neighbourhood cemetery, which they visited after the early morning Eid prayer at the city's nearby Great Mosque. The mosque's imam led a prayer at the cemetery for those killed in Gaza and for the community's dead, particularly those killed by the Israeli army. Hamam al-Sadi, 31, told AFP he has visited the cemetery at every religious holiday since his brother was killed in a strike, to "just sit with him." -'Our only hope'- Several graves marked "martyr" -- a term broadly applied to Palestinian civilians and militants killed by Israel -- were decorated with photos of young men holding weapons. Mohammad Hazhouzi, 61, lost a son during a military raid in November 2024. He has also been unemployed since Israel stopped giving work permits to West Bank residents after the Gaza war erupted. Despite the army's continued presence in Jenin, Hazhouzi harboured hope. "They've been there for months. But every occupation eventually comes to an end, no matter how long it lasts". "God willing, we will achieve our goal of establishing our Palestinian state. That's our only hope," he said. "Be optimistic, and good things will come".
