The BBC has reached a financial settlement with a Jewish family who survived the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, after a news crew filmed inside their devastated home without consent.
The 'Intrusion' After the Attack
The broadcaster is believed to have agreed to pay the Horenstein family £28,000 for what they described as a profound 'intrusion'. The incident occurred in the days following the deadly assault, when a BBC crew, including its senior international correspondent Jeremy Bowen, entered the family's home in Israel.
Tzeela and Simon Horenstein, along with their two young children, had survived the initial attack after a door that Hamas militants tried to blast open twisted and jammed. However, at the time the BBC filmed the wreckage, many of their friends and relatives were still unaware if they were alive.
Family's Distress and BBC Response
Tzeela Horenstein told the Jewish News that the crew's actions felt like a second violation. "Not only had the militants tried to break into our home and murder us," she said, "but then the BBC crew entered again, this time with a camera as a weapon, without permission or consent." She added that this left the family feeling as if "everything that was still under our control had been taken from us."
A BBC spokesperson stated on Friday: "While we do not generally comment on specific legal issues we are pleased to have reached an agreement in this case."
Broader Context of Scrutiny
This settlement comes during a period of significant scrutiny for the BBC's editorial decisions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. In October, the UK media regulator Ofcom ruled against the broadcaster over a documentary that featured narration by a boy later revealed to be the son of a Hamas official. Ofcom said the failure to disclose this link was "a significant source of deception."
Furthermore, the BBC's director general, Tim Davie, announced his resignation in November following controversy over the editing of a speech by former US President Donald Trump from January 2021. Trump has since filed a defamation lawsuit against the corporation seeking $10bn in damages.
The 7 October attacks by Hamas, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, were followed by a fragile ceasefire beginning on 10 October.
