NEWS
BBC News apologises for misreporting facts on Gaza hospital; no comment on Singapore link
16 November 2023
The BBC has declined to comment on reports that the newsreader at the centre of this week’s outcry about mis-reporting facts in the Israel-Gaza war is based in Singapore.
Consumer and trade publications around the world are identifying the BBC newsreader as Monica Miller, a senior broadcast journalist and BBC anchor.
The initial BBC broadcast stated repeatedly that the Israeli military was “targeting people including medical teams as well as Arab speakers” in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital.
In its apology, BBC said its report that Israeli forces entering Gaza’s main hospital were targetting, “medical teams and Arab speakers” was incorrect.
The apology said its newsreader had misquoted a Reuters report.
“We should have said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation,” the statement said.
The apology did not include the full text of the original Reuters report.
“We apologise for this error, which fell below our usual editorial standards. The correct version of events was broadcast minutes later and we apologised for the mistake on air later in the morning.”
The BBC apology was uploaded to the Corrections and Clarifications section of the BBC’s website as well as broadcast on the TV channel and across digital platforms.
The apology on X (formerly Twitter), which Miller retweeted, has so far received more than 652,000 views, and more than 830 comments.
The apology broadcast uploaded at 7.08pm Singapore time last night has so far been viewed 29,500 times.
The original Reuters report by Rami Ayyub (edited by Tom Hogue) said: “The Israeli military said its forces were carrying out an operation on Wednesday against Hamas within Gaza's biggest hospital, Al Shifa.”
Reuters quoted a military report as saying that “based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital."
“The IDF forces include medical teams and A...
The BBC has declined to comment on reports that the newsreader at the centre of this week’s outcry about mis-reporting facts in the Israel-Gaza war is based in Singapore.
Consumer and trade publications around the world are identifying the BBC newsreader as Monica Miller, a senior broadcast journalist and BBC anchor.
The initial BBC broadcast stated repeatedly that the Israeli military was “targeting people including medical teams as well as Arab speakers” in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital.
In its apology, BBC said its report that Israeli forces entering Gaza’s main hospital were targetting, “medical teams and Arab speakers” was incorrect.
The apology said its newsreader had misquoted a Reuters report.
“We should have said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation,” the statement said.
The apology did not include the full text of the original Reuters report.
“We apologise for this error, which fell below our usual editorial standards. The correct version of events was broadcast minutes later and we apologised for the mistake on air later in the morning.”
The BBC apology was uploaded to the Corrections and Clarifications section of the BBC’s website as well as broadcast on the TV channel and across digital platforms.
The apology on X (formerly Twitter), which Miller retweeted, has so far received more than 652,000 views, and more than 830 comments.
The apology broadcast uploaded at 7.08pm Singapore time last night has so far been viewed 29,500 times.
The original Reuters report by Rami Ayyub (edited by Tom Hogue) said: “The Israeli military said its forces were carrying out an operation on Wednesday against Hamas within Gaza's biggest hospital, Al Shifa.”
Reuters quoted a military report as saying that “based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital."
“The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians,” the original report said.
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