A new investigation by the British newspaper The Telegraph has raised questions about the BBC’s reporting on Palestinian journalists killed during the war in Gaza, alleging that 53 people identified in BBC reports as journalists had varying degrees of connections to Hamas or other terrorist organizations.
According to The Telegraph, most of the individuals appeared in reports by BBC Arabic, while some were also mentioned in BBC English coverage. The newspaper said its review found that some of those identified as journalists had participated in the October 7th massacre, while others had been documented wearing military uniforms, carrying weapons, or displaying symbols associated with terrorist organizations.
In other cases, The Telegraph cited condolence messages and memorial posts published by Hamas and other armed groups following the deaths of the individuals. According to the investigation, some of those posts described the deceased as members of the organizations or as “martyrs."
The investigation comes as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also undertaken a renewed review of its list of journalists and media workers killed during the war. The organization has removed some names after determining that certain individuals had participated in fighting or did not meet its criteria for being classified as journalists or media workers.
However, the findings do not establish that all 53 individuals identified by The Telegraph were combatants. The investigation describes varying degrees of alleged affiliation and evidence, ranging from claims of participation in fighting to photographs, organizational statements and memorial messages published by terrorist groups.
Following the publication of the investigation, the BBC said it was reviewing the names included in its reporting. The corporation said the relevant report was last updated in August 2025 and reflected the information available at the time. It added that, following changes to the CPJ lists, it would conduct a renewed review of the information.