BBC Apologizes Over Claims IDF ‘Targeted’ Shifa Hospital Medical Staff

The BBC has apologized after a news anchor mis-reported a Reuters news story to suggest the Israeli arms was “targeting” medical staff.

The BBC newsreader, believed to be Monica Miller, a senior broadcast journalist and BBC anchor based in Singapore, was reading from a Reuters report when she twice stated the Israeli military was “targeting people including medical teams as well as Arab speakers” in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital.

In fact, the Reuters report clearly stated the medical teams and Arabic speakers were part of the Israeli Defence Forces who had been sent into the hospital to assist patients and staff. Reuters quoted an IDF spokesperson who told the news agency: “Our medical teams and Arabic speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need.”

The BBC subsequently posted a correction on its website and broadcast an apology on-air, which was delivered by another newsreader.

“As BBC News covered initial reports that Israeli forces had entered Gaza’s main hospital, we said that “medical teams and Arab speakers” were being targeted,” the BBC said on its “Corrections and Clarifications” page online. “This was incorrect and misquoted a Reuters report. We should have said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation. 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.”

Earlier, the Board of Deputies, an organization representing mainstream British Jewry, said it was “appalled” by Miller’s on-air mis-reporting. “At best this shows a staggering lack of care when reporting on a highly volatile situation, which can have a knock-on effect all over the world, including in Britain, where antisemitic attacks have risen by more than 500% since October 7th,” the org said. “Incidents like this make a mockery of the BBC’s oft-stated dedication to professionalism and impartiality.”

The BBC declined to comment on whether Miller would face any internal repercussions over the error.