International editor of the BBC Jeremy Bowen was interviewed for one of the corporation's news programs and admitted that he made a mistake in the coverage surrounding the incident in which an explosion occurred at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza which he directly blamed Israel.
However, the veteran journalist stated that he does not regret it.
When asked about the incident, he said, "I don't regret a single thing in my report, because I think I'm measured all the way, I don't feel bad at all. I made a mistake in reporting because I looked at the pictures that came to me, and what I could see was a small square with a fire burning from every direction, I think it was a picture taken from a drone, so from here we had to put all the information together, and I thought to myself - 'It looks like the whole building has disappeared.'"
According to Bowen, "That was my conclusion from looking at the pictures and I was wrong, but I don't feel bad in particular, this was only the conclusion I drew."
Bowen added that "sometimes the corporation has to rely on things that people say, such as also looking at the number of videos that are published, and released to the network."
Initial report sparks outrage on Israeli side
The initial report caused great outrage when the BBC reported, relying on Palestinian reports, that "Given the size of the explosion, it is difficult to see what this could mean for an Israeli attack from the air."
After it was learned that the explosion at the hospital was caused by a failed launch of a rocket, the British news channel published an apology message: "On Tuesday night, we reviewed the explosion that occurred at Al-Mamdani Hospital in Gaza City," the BBC's announcement reads.
"During the article, we conducted an immediate on-the-ground analysis on the subject, which was a confusing and complex story."
Finally, they clarified that " The issue does not represent the entire coverage of the BBC and anyone who watches, listens or reads our articles. All viewers can see that we detailed the claims of both sides regarding the explosion, while clearly showing who is saying what."