The BBC’s Jon Donnison has removed a tweet and apologised after writing that “propaganda efforts by Hamas and Israel over hostage releases are pretty nauseating”.
The former correspondent in Gaza provoked outrage after posting on X this morning, without expanding on his views.
It came after Hamas was condemned by the UN and others for its ghoulish staging of the handover of four bodies of hostages on Thursday, including that of the Bibas brothers and octogenarian peace activist. The then filmed two hostages who are not due to be released until phase two of the ceasefire watching the release of other hostages yesterday, before being taken back to captivity.
Israel has since paused the release of Palestinian prisoners that were expected yesterday under the deal.
A BBC newsroom source said: “This is so irresponsible of Donnison. What on earth possesses a correspondent to tweet such a thing, especially while the BBC is embroiled in a crisis over impartiality? The BBC will be judged – again – by its response.”
Last week, the corporation was forced into a rare climbdown after investigator David Collier revealed that the young narrator of a documentary on Gaza was the son of a Hamas minister. BBC top brass are expected to hold talks over the scandal this week.
Donnison wrote tonight: “I’ve taken down a post about the release of hostages and prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire as it wasn’t appropriate Sorry if it offended anyone as that wasn’t my intention.”
But another BBC insider said it was just the latest episode that shows he is unfit to report on the Middle East, having wrongly suggested in October 2023 that Israel was behind a blast at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. He has also previously presented a picture of an injured Syrian girl as one of a Palestinian.
