Author: Steven Sahiounie

Employees have reportedly complained that the British state broadcaster is downplaying the suffering of Palestinian civilians BBC journalists have accused the British state broadcaster of biased coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and hostilities in Gaza, Qatari state network Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. Israeli President Isaac Herzog had previously called the BBC’s coverage “atrocious” in a verbal attack from the other side. In a 2,300-word letter cited by the Doha-based outlet, eight UK-based journalists working for the BBC accused their employer of failing to accurately report the story due to “lack of critical engagement with Israel’s claims” about the conflict. They complained that terms…

A detailed report about a possible imminent attack ended up being dismissed as an “imaginary scenario” Israeli intelligence received a detailed report on an impending assault by Hamas shortly before the Palestinian militant group’s actual attack on October 7, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing persons familiar with the matter. The warning, compiled by border sentries, – “many of them female soldiers,” the FT was told– arrived through secure communication lines to the highest-ranking intelligence officer in the southern command a few weeks before the attack, sources said, without identifying the senior security official. The report contained “specific warnings” on the looming assault,…

Israel has long insisted that the Palestinian militant group operates out of hospitals and other protected infrastructure The Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital complex, insisting Hamas was using the healthcare facility as its “headquarters,” despite having uncovered the militant group’s actual headquarters just days earlier, Consortium News reported on Thursday.  The outlet’s report cited a Jerusalem Post story published ahead of the controversial raid detailing how the IOF had discovered Hamas’ underground high command center – five miles (8.5km) away from the hospital. The IOF nevertheless went ahead with the assault on Al-Shifa, continuing to insist that…

The British state-funded broadcaster has barred employees from attending “political” events Several Jewish workers at the BBC have slammed the corporation after it prohibited its journalists from joining an upcoming march against antisemitism, the Times has reported, citing producers and other staffers. Organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the rally is set for Sunday in the UK capital, where thousands are expected to turn out. However, BBC staff “working in news and current affairs” have been denied permission to attend, with higher-ups citing the broadcaster’s existing guidelines for events that could be considered political or controversial, according to the Times. Employees were critical of the…

The US president has speculated that Palestinian militants sought to derail a Saudi-Israeli peace deal US President Joe Biden has offered a theory on what might have triggered the surprise Hamas attacks that ignited the Palestinian militant group’s latest war with Israel: himself. Speaking to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Friday, Biden speculated that Hamas was motivated to launch its October 7 assault on villages in southern Israel by US progress in negotiating a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The president claimed that the talks were heating up after a massive railway project, including a link between Riyadh and…

“Today we can also be thankful for families being reunited with loved ones who have been held hostage for nearly 50 days,” the US president told reporters. Biden said the deal was reached through “extensive US diplomacy”, including “numerous calls” he said he made to leaders across the region. “This deal also is structured to allow a pause to continue” to allow more captives to be released. “That’s our goal,” he said. “It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well.” Source: AlJazeera

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was “infinitely relieved” that four Germans were among those released. Baerbock thanked her Qatari counterpart, as well as Egypt and the Red Cross, for their work. She said the release of all captives held in Gaza – including remaining German citizens – remains a high priority, and added that she hoped the pause in fighting would allow much more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave Source: AlJazeera

Two children and a photojournalist were shot and injured by Israeli occupation forces this evening after the latter attacked families of Palestinian detainees who were awaiting the release of their beloved ones in front of the Ofer military prison in Beitunia, west of Ramallah. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that two children, aged 16 and 12, were injured by live bullets in front of the Ofer military prison, adding they were evacuated to hospital. Meanwhile, local sources reported that a photojournalist was injured by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his leg. Since the afternoon, a number of citizens, and…

Commenting on the release of 13 Israeli captives, Daniel Hagari warned that the days ahead would be “complex” but that the Israeli army would not stop until all captives have been freed. He called the return of captives “a moral duty” and added that “the safety of our fighters” is Israel’s top priority during the four-day break in fighting in Gaza. During that time, according to the deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas, a total of 50 Israeli captives are set to gradually be released in exchange for about 150 Palestinian prisoners. The pause in fighting could also be…

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, says Palestinians have been shocked by the level of destruction in areas deemed “safe” by Israel. “For those who remained in the northern parts, the shock is even worse; they are just devastated and depressed by the wiped-out neighbourhoods,” Mahmoud said. While views are mixed on the four-day pause, with some Palestinians seeing it as insufficient, it does provide “moments of reprieve” for residents of the bombarded enclave to try to get food and check on their relatives. “It’s also an opportunity for those who lost loved-ones and friends…