BBC Settles With Israeli Family After Filming in Their Home Without Consent Following Oct. 7 Attack
The BBC logo is displayed above the entrance to the BBC headquarters in London, Britain, July 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
The BBC has reached an agreement with an Israeli family after filming without consent inside their home, which was horribly damaged in the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the British broadcaster confirmed on Saturday.
A BBC News crew, including the corporation’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen, entered the Horenstein family home in the small village of Netiv HaAsara on the Israel-Gaza border and filmed inside the property days after the deadly terrorist attack without the family’s knowledge. BBC filmed personal photographs of the family’s children when many of their friends and relatives still did not know if they were alive. During the Oct. 7 massacre, 17 residents of Netiv HaAsara were killed.
“Not only did terrorists break into our home and try to murder us, but then the BBC crew entered again, this time with a camera as a weapon, without permission or consent,” Tzeela Horenstein told Jewish News. “It was another intrusion into our lives. We felt that everything that was still under our control had been taken from us.”
“I discovered the BBC report by chance,” she added. “We were already heartbroken, and this was yet another intrusion into our lives. Even in times of war there are limits, and when a media outlet crosses them, it must be held responsible.”
The BBC did not announce how much it paid the Horenstein family in the settlement. Instead, it referred to an article by Jewish News that said the corporation paid a compensation of $32,698 (£28,000) to the Israeli family. BBC News Middle East bureau chief Joaquin Floto also wrote to the Horensteins in Hebrew and apologized for the incident. “Our entry into your home resulted from a good-faith mistake, as we believed consent had been given … The BBC had no intention to harm you or cause you discomfort,” he said in part, as cited by Jewish News.
Horenstein said gunmen threw a grenade at her husband who was outside of their home when Hamas-led terrorists first infiltrated Netiv HaAsara during the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2023. He thankfully escaped the blow and reached their shelter. The couple and their two young children ultimately survived the attack because the door of their home “twisted and jammed” when terrorists tried to blow it open with an explosive device, Horenstein told the Jewish News. The family was under attack for hours.
“Our house became a battleground,” she explained. “The terrorists entered and exited it repeatedly and exchanged fire with the village’s emergency squad from inside. We survived only by making immediate decisions under extreme pressure. The house was destroyed and declared uninhabitable. We have no home. Only the shelter remained standing.”
The family eventually crawled out through a window of their shelter and ran to their car, which they discovered was hit by gunfire. The couple and their two children then wandered across Israel for days, seeking help.