The launch of a major humanitarian appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is being delayed by the BBC, it has emerged.
The corporation said the appeal did not meet all the established criteria for a national appeal, but the possibility of broadcasting an appeal was “under review”. Other channels have agreed to broadcast an appeal.
Insiders at the DEC, the BBC and aid agencies said they were dismayed at the delay. Some have accused the BBC of “blocking” the appeal because the corporation fears a backlash from supporters of Israel in its war with Hamas. One senior NGO figure said that staff were “furious” at the BBC’s position.
The DEC has three criteria for launching an appeal. The scale and urgency of the disaster must merit swift international humanitarian assistance. Agencies must be able “to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national appeal” and there must be “evidence of existing public sympathy for the humanitarian situation” or “the likelihood of significant public support should an appeal be launched”. It is understood that the second criterion, regarding delivery of aid, is the focus of discussions.
The DEC is an umbrella organisation of 15 leading UK aid charities that raises funds for humanitarian disasters. It publicises its appeals through broadcasts on major networks and adverts in the press.
Since it was set up in 1963, it has launched 77 appeals, raising £2.2bn. Its appeal for Ukraine in 2022 raised £426m.
The DEC uses a “rapid response network” of “key media and corporate partners who help us launch our emergency appeals at very short notice, getting the message out and making it easy for the UK public to donate quickly and seamlessly”. The network includes the main national broadcasters.
Since the war in Gaza began last October, more than 40,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities, the majority of them civilians, and almost 2 million people have been displaced. The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with food, drinking water and medicines scarce, according to the UN and aid agencies.
The World Health Organization is in the midst of running a vaccination programme for 640,000 children after the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza for 25 years.
A spokesperson for the DEC said: “The DEC and our stakeholders are deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza The volatile situation in the region, as well as the complex issues around aid access, pose a huge challenge when reviewing our criteria for an appeal.
“The DEC’s role is to launch a national appeal with our broadcast partners at a time that will raise the most money and deliver swift effective aid to as many people as possible. We are ready to act when the moment is right.”
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We are keeping the possibility of a pan-broadcaster appeal under review.”
The BBC also requires DEC appeals to meet its rules on impartiality, but such an assessment is made only after the three criteria have been met.
The war in Gaza began last October after Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on Israeli communities in the south of the country, killing more than 1,100 civilians and taking about 250 hostages.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have taken part in protests and demonstrations against Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza. Others have marched in support of Israel’s right to defend itself.
Jewish and Muslim community organisations have reported alarming rises in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the past year.
The BBC has been criticised by both sides for its reporting of the war. Last month, an Israeli government spokesperson accused Mishal Husain, a highly respected presenter on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, of “blindly repeating what terrorist organisations … feed you”.
At the time, a BBC spokesperson said the corporation rejected his allegations. “As the listener could hear, Mishal Husain was asking legitimate and important questions in a professional, fair and courteous manner.”
