The BBC has found itself at the centre of fresh outrage following its coverage of the first part of the Gaza ceasefire deal on Monday morning.
Thousands gathered in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, to celebrate the historic occasion of the remaining 20 living hostages being returned home by Hamas following their capture on October 7, 2023.
As part of the deal brokered by US President Donald Trump that paved the way for their return, around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will also be released from their detention.
Hamas had initially released the first seven hostages early on Monday, handing them to the Red Cross. Soon after, the remaining 13 hostages were returned to Israel.
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BBC Breakfast's Jon Kay and Sally Nugent hosted Monday's show
|BBC
The 28 other hostages held by Hamas are believed to be dead. Once all are returned, Israel plans to free 250 Palestinian prisoners currently serving life sentences.
Approximately 1,700 Gazans detained following the October 7 terror attacks are also scheduled to be freed.
President Trump arrived in Jerusalem this morning to address the Knesset following the historic deal. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other world leaders are gathering in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for a summit about the next steps of the peace plan.
On BBC Breakfast on Monday, host Sally Nugent discussed the developments with chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman. "What is the Prime Minister’s job today? What is his part to play in proceedings?" she asked Mr Zeffman at 7:20am British time.
BBC Breakfast's Henry Zeffman
|BBC
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Mr Zeffman replied: "Morning, Sally. Well, like so many world leaders and so many people around the world, the Prime Minister will simply be delighted to see what is happening right now in terms of the hostage exchange.
"But going forward, I think what we’ll hear from the Prime Minister in Egypt today is a focus on what comes next. What does this peace actually look like?
"And that’s what we heard from the Prime Minister as he landed in Egypt last night. He said this, 'Today is the first crucial phase of ending this war, and now we must deliver the second phase in full.'
"He went on to say, 'The UK will support the next stage of talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan, so that people on both sides can rebuild their lives in safety and security.'"
BBC Breakfast's Henry Zeffman told Sally Nugent the deal was a "hostage exchange"
|BBC
Continuing his explanation despite the "hostage exchange" remark, Mr Zeffman went on: "There’s been a bit of a row overnight, by the way, Sally, between the UK and the US, about what role—if any—the UK actually played in assisting bringing about this ceasefire.
"And last night, Mike Huckabee, who’s the US Ambassador to Israel, said that Bridget Philipson, the Education Secretary, was 'delusional' for suggesting that UK diplomacy had helped bring things to this point."
However, he went on to read aloud the statement by Steve Whitcock, President Trump’s peace negotiator in the Middle East, who praised the UK's "vital role" in "assisting and coordinating what’s happening today."
Ms Nugent soon moved on with her line of questioning, but many BBC viewers took issue with Mr Zeffman's use of the term "hostage exchange" to describe what was happening between Israel and Hamas on Monday.
Israelis react at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv
| REUTERSSeveral flocked to social media to point out that Israeli hostages were being released for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, not hostages.
After a clip of Mr Zeffman's report was shared by @HonestReporting, one X user replied in disgust: "Excuse me @BBCNews I really don’t think 250 lifers are hostages."
"@BBCNews, you need to correct this immediately. It is NOT a hostage exchange," a second weighed in before a third fumed: "Why would anyone still watch this @BBCNews garbage..."
"Even Al Jazeera has got it right. BBC is such an embarrassment," a fourth added before a fifth raged: "Defund the BBC."
BBC Breakfast's Henry Zeffman was speaking from Downing Street
|BBC
"The once respectable BBC has... hit rock bottom," a sixth weighed in before a seventh claimed: "The BBC has been a disgrace throughout this war."
A BBC spokesperson told GB News: “This was explaining the events happening at that moment, which was the release of the hostages by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"It was not referring to Palestinians being released. BBC News has been clear about the status of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including many detained without charge.”
While she avoided correcting the "hostage exchange" comment, Ms Nugent did ask: "And we know, don’t we, Henry, that in the next few moments we are expecting Air Force One to land just outside Tel Aviv, and Donald Trump to play quite an important role this morning in the spectacle of the events. This really is going to be a moment that he will claim, isn’t it?"
President Donald Trump arrived with Speaker Amir Ohana and Israel's President Isaac Herzog to speak to the Knesset
| REUTERS"Yeah, and speak to anyone in Downing Street — including people who privately, though not publicly, are pretty sceptical, shall we say, of Donald Trump and his involvement in all sorts of things — they credit Donald Trump with this," Mr Zeffman said.
The BBC reporter went on: "Bridget Philipson, the Education Secretary, perhaps slightly mischaracterised the government’s position yesterday, because for some time the government has been saying privately and publicly, 'Look, this is Donald Trump’s achievement.'
"'This is a singular achievement of a sort of singularly unique politician in bringing about this ceasefire.'
"The hope in Downing Street is that when Donald Trump touches down today, and then when he goes to Egypt later today, that that isn’t the end of things — that he maintains his focus not just on this ceasefire, but on the remaining points of his 20-point peace plan, in terms of actually turning this into a durable peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Honest Reporting first published a clip of Mr Zeffman's remarks
|X
"And, of course, it is worth noting that as well as Keir Starmer, there is another British Labour Prime Minister there in Sharm El-Sheikh today and having meetings — and that is Sir Tony Blair.
"He’s the only other named person on Donald Trump’s Peace Board, which will be helping, he says, the US President to administer Gaza in terms of the coming weeks and months and potentially years.
"And, of course, that is a delicate thing for Keir Starmer — that there is another British Prime Minister who probably will end up having a bigger role in all of this than him."