The BBC has been accused of whitewashing Hamas after describing suicide bomb attacks which killed dozens of civilians in Israel as “military operations”.

The corporation’s Arabic channel last month reported that Mohammed Deif, the Hamas military leader, had launched a string of “military operations” against Israel which culminated on Oct 7.

Camera, which stands for the committee for accuracy in Middle East reporting and analysis, claims that BBC Arabic’s reporting suggested that the attacks were aimed at soldiers instead of civilians – and that this had the effect of whitewashing Hamas.

It pointed out that the total death toll in the attacks which Deif had planned was 93, with 80 of the victims civilians, aged 13 to 83. Only 13 of those killed were soldiers and other security personnel.

In a story about Deif’s assassination by Israeli forces, BBC Arabic said: “For approximately 30 years, [Deif] took part in several military operations against Israel, starting from kidnapping soldiers and rocket attacks, passing through military operations and culminating in the October 7th, 2023 attack.”

Camera, which lobbies for a fair media representation of Israel, said: “Downplaying Palestinian groups’ responsibility for targeting innocent civilians as mere ‘accusations’, which only Israel and the US supposedly aim at them, has been a BBC Arabic habit for years.

“Even when the Palestinian groups themselves boast about similar murders, BBC Arabic reporters would often use their own voice to falsely describe them as ‘military operations’ carried out against ‘soldiers’ or ‘gunmen’.”

As a military leader for Hamas, Deif was responsible for killing at least 70 civilians, the majority of them in a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in the 1990s.

Several more were killed in Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip during the 2000s.

When BBC Arabic reported that Deif had been killed in an Israeli strike on a refugee camp in southern Gaza on July 14, it ran a package illustrated by images of the bus bomb attacks and others organised by the Hamas leader.

However, the accompanying caption and text stated: “Deif planned a series of military operations against Israel which caused the kidnapping and killing of dozens of soldiers in the 1990s”.

The BBC defended its coverage of Deif’s death. A spokesman told The Telegraph: “BBC News Arabic has made clear throughout our coverage that Muhammad Deif was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US and the EU.

“We quoted the Israeli military describing Deif as a terrorist and that they hold him responsible for the murder of Israelis, and we referenced the serious accusations he faced around the 1996 attacks.

“Our audiences were in no doubt about Deif’s actions and the fact that he had been called a terrorist, including by Israel.”