The shooting of an Israeli civilian near the Gaza Strip-Israel border on December 24th was – as noted here previously – one of numerous recent incidents in that area including attempts to breach the border fence, rioting and attempts to lay improvised explosive devices. On December 26th two separate incidents of missile fire from the Gaza Strip occurred; one in the early hours of the morning and one in the evening. In response, the Israeli air force targeted a weapons manufacturing facility and a weapons storage facility. Neither of those missile attacks on the Hof Ashkelon area – home to 13,500 civilians – was reported by the BBC.

Not all missiles fired by terrorist groups from the Gaza Strip land in Israeli territory: a significant proportion of them (some estimates say as many as 40%) fall short, landing in the Strip itself and hence endangering the local civilian population. Even if they eventually fall short, missiles fired do however trigger the early warning sirens which give residents of the area fifteen seconds to find cover from the incoming attack and of course for the local population, every sounding of the ‘Colour Red’ siren is a real incident which demands an instant and rapid response at whatever time of night or day.

Both aspects of this story – that of the residents of the Gaza Strip endangered and sometimes injured or killed by short-fall missiles and that of residents of southern Israel living with the constant threat of missile attacks – are severely under-reported by the BBC.

Since the beginning of this month at least five separate incidents of missile fire from the Gaza Strip have taken place, including the two mentioned above. Only one of those incidents got a brief mention from the BBC in an article relating to another subject.

“Early on Monday, a rocket fired from Gaza landed in a community near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, without causing damage or injuries.”

In other words, BBC audiences have been kept in the dark with regard to 80% of terror attacks from the Gaza Strip by missile fire alone during the last four weeks.

Related articles:

BBC silent on doubling of terror attacks since renewed ME talks

Patchy BBC reporting on security incidents compromises context and accuracy

BBC’s Knell continues the downplaying of terror from the Gaza Strip

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