Chapter 4: Peace Journalism Frames in BBC Arabic and English Coverage of the War on Gaza (2023–2024)

The catastrophic humanitarian crisis and the displacement of Palestinians were the focus of many news stories on social media since the 7th of October, 2023. To help establish peace, news should be published in a more comprehensive and objective manner. This study explores the digital coverage of BBC Arabic and BBC English on their official Instagram channels. Using qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the study examines and compares news stories about the Gaza War posted on both channels in the period from 2023 to 2024. The study concludes that both channels employed the conflict frame by omitting the historical background of the Palestinian conflict and focusing only on events beginning on October 7, 2023. There is a noticeable lack of application of the solution frame. The peace frame appeared in 43.9% of BBC Arabic content, which is higher than BBC English at 33.3%. The people frame was also higher in BBC Arabic (58.5%) compared to BBC English (55.6%). Similarly, the solution frame was used in 51.2% of BBC Arabic content versus 33.3% in BBC English. The results suggest that both channels emphasized the conflicting parties: the Israeli military, Hamas, and Palestinian civilians.