Thread by @althecat

During the 11-day Gaza war in May the BBC and especially @bbcworldservice did a fantastic job of covering the rapidly escalating conflict.

However they seem to have now dropped the ball now that Israel has broken the casefire. #GazaUnderAttack

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1405675374231625729

The story above completely buries the most important aspect of what is happening now in the Israel conflict.

Had Hamas responded last night with rockets this story would have led the news… and as my linked thread shows for a while last night it was thought they had done so.

Notably the @bbcworldservice’s The Newsroom program - a 24h breaking news service heard all around the world - did not report the 3rd day of bombings at all.

As the thread shows there are numerous hard news angles that could be followed and which justify coverage.

To me the most significant is Hamas not returning fire. But maybe I am impartial on this.

But coverage is justified by other things too, a brand new Israeli Govt. is trying to restart a war/ ceasefire brokered by the US President discarded. Etc.

The story also plays into two big global stories. The Iran JCPOA talks are at a critical stage in the lead in to Iranian elections and today the IDF chief of staff is visiting the US, as the Congress finally overturns the 9/11 era military force authorization aka AUMF.

The BBC’s story is also lazy, leaving out a critical part of the narrative the Flag March in Jerusalem which led to the sending of balloons.

I am singling out the @bbc here not because they are the worst, during the very recent war @bbcworldservice was among the best, if not the best source of news on this.

But there is a important issue here.

1. The slowness of media right now threatens a very fragile peace.

2. Hamas not responding with rockets to bombing is a very significant change in the rhythm of this story.

&

3. If the media needs Hamas to fire rockets in order to feel this is worth covering then they are adopting a role of voyeur provocateurs rather than being truth tellers.

Even the best possible (and most likely) explanations for incoming @IsraeliPM @naftalibennett’s decision to take this course are morally repugnant.

And here I am talking of this being some calculated effort to shore up his right wing credentials.

A cynical old hack like me can see that this is easily possible. He might also be wanting to send a message to Hamas that he is not soft. Dumb, reflexive abf thoughtless politics. And we have a lot of that these days.

But to do so by breaking a ceasefire three days in a row is a bit like moving into a new house in a tinder dry forest, setting fire to the neighbours garage because he waves his fist at you and criticizes your curtains, and then doubling down and setting fire to his house.

The forest is about to catch fire now. And absent responsible balanced international media attention we may soon be back to watching nightly scenes of children being pulled out of buildings in Gaza before we know it.

P.S. Here's an idea. Maybe someone other than @AJEnglish and @ViceNews should try to get a Gazan and Hamas perspective on this.

/ENDS

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