By: Fern Sidman

A leaked internal memo has ignited a fresh storm around the BBC, with reports alleging that senior editorial leadership instructed its journalists to portray Israel as solely responsible for food shortages in Gaza, regardless of competing evidence. The document, reportedly obtained by The Spectator, has drawn immediate scrutiny given the broadcaster’s global influence and the long-running controversies surrounding its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

According to the leaked four-page directive, headlined “Covering the food crisis in Gaza,” BBC editors instructed staff to dismiss debates over the volume of aid entering Gaza, insisting instead that the “system doesn’t work.” The memo characterizes Israel as Gaza’s  “occupying power” and directs reporters to frame hunger in the enclave as Israel’s legal responsibility. The Daily Caller, citing details from the leak in their report, stressed that this approach stands in contrast to Israel’s repeated assertions that it disengaged from Gaza in 2005 and no longer exercises occupation under international law.

The memo reportedly told correspondents that “the argument over how much aid has crossed into Gaza is irrelevant,” advising staff to avoid engaging with official figures. According to the information provided in The Daily Caller report, the guidelines further identified the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — a U.S.- and Israel-backed logistics network — as a “failure.” Notably absent, however, was any mention of Israel’s claim that Hamas has diverted aid shipments, seizing goods before they can reach civilian populations.

The instructions also appear to contravene the BBC’s own editorial guidelines. As The Daily Caller report pointed out, the broadcaster’s rulebook specifies that contested political terms such as “occupation” must be carefully attributed and contextualized, rather than presented as indisputable fact. By instructing reporters to treat Gaza as unquestionably “occupied,” critics argue, the BBC risks substituting political advocacy for impartial journalism.

The leaked directive comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the BBC. In recent months, the broadcaster has faced sharp criticism from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel constituencies. In May, more than 400 media professionals, including 121 current BBC staff members, signed an open letter accusing the network of perpetuating “anti-Palestinian racism” through its Gaza coverage. Pro-Israel campaigners, by contrast, have alleged that the corporation has consistently downplayed Hamas atrocities, including the targeting of Israeli civilians.

The report in The Daily Caller noted that the BBC’s dual criticism highlights the degree to which its reporting has become a lightning rod in the broader debate over media coverage of the conflict. For the network’s defenders, the backlash reflects the difficulty of reporting on a war where competing narratives are entrenched. But for critics, the newly leaked email suggests not just the perception of bias but the institutionalization of it.

Central to the leaked memo is the instruction to declare Israel the “occupying power” in Gaza. Israel has long argued that its unilateral disengagement in 2005, which involved dismantling settlements and withdrawing troops, ended its occupation. The United Nations, however, continues to describe Israel as the occupying force, citing its control over Gaza’s borders, airspace, and territorial waters.

The Daily Caller report highlighted how the BBC’s decision to present the occupation claim as “indisputable” crosses into politically charged territory, particularly given that legal experts and governments remain divided on the question. Critics say this framing risks undermining the BBC’s credibility by presenting a contested legal position as established fact.

The fallout from the memo may reverberate beyond the BBC. As The Daily Caller report emphasized, the corporation is often regarded as a global standard-bearer for journalistic integrity. Any perception that it has directed staff to adopt politically loaded positions could have wide-ranging consequences for trust in its reporting.

The BBC has not confirmed the authenticity of the leaked document, and it remains unclear whether the editorial instructions were implemented across its reporting teams. Still, the controversy sheds light on the heightened scrutiny that international news organizations face when covering the war in Gaza, where narratives are fiercely contested, and accusations of bias are swift.

The BBC has long prided itself on its purported impartiality, despite its long running animus towards Israel and the Jewish people. Yet the leaked memo suggests a significant departure from that principle by instructing staff to frame Israel as solely responsible for Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. The Daily Caller reported that the instructions appear not only to ignore Israel’s claims about Hamas’s role in aid diversion but also to disregard the network’s own editorial standards requiring attribution of disputed terms.

As the broadcaster continues to face criticism from multiple sides, the controversy highlights the profound challenges of covering one of the world’s most divisive conflicts. For observers, the leaked memo raises pressing questions about whether the BBC is meeting its own standards of accuracy and neutrality—or whether it is shaping the narrative in ways that could compromise its credibility at a critical moment in international reporting.