White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the BBC during a briefing, accusing it of accepting Hamas’s claims without scrutiny in its reporting on Gaza.

Axar.az, citing JP, reports that she specifically referenced BBC headlines that initially blamed Israeli tank or gunfire for deaths during an aid incident, and claimed the BBC later had to remove the story after reviewing footage and finding no evidence—something the BBC firmly denies.

The BBC responded, stating that Leavitt’s claim was “completely wrong,” asserting it did not take down any stories and stood by its journalism.

The broadcaster explained that headline updates reflected changing fatality figures from multiple sources, including Hamas-run ministries, medics, and the Red Cross, which is standard practice in fast-developing news events. The BBC also clarified that a viral video about the aid center was not shown on its news channels and did not inform its reporting.

Leavitt emphasized that the U.S. administration investigates reports before taking action, urging journalists to do the same to combat global misinformation.

The BBC called on the White House to help journalists gain access to Gaza and denied conflating different reports.

This exchange comes amid longstanding criticism of the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Critics accuse the BBC of bias against Israel, particularly for referring to Hamas as “militants” rather than “terrorists.”