BBC compensates Netiv Ha’asarah family for filming inside home after Oct. 7

The Horensteins received NIS 120,000 and an apology for the violation of their privacy.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The BBC has paid a Netiv Ha’asarah family NIS 120,000 ($32,000) in compensation for filming inside their home without permission following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, as part of an out-of-court settlement.

A film crew led by senior journalist Jeremy Bowen entered the home of Tzeela and Simon Horenstein in the Gaza-border moshav just days after terrorists murdered 17 residents and set fire to numerous houses.

During Bowen’s report, the broadcast showed the family’s wrecked living room, including photographs of their children.

The Horensteins and their two young children survived the attack only because the door to their home jammed after Hamas terrorists tried to force their way in using explosives. At the time the report aired, however, some family members still did not know whether they were alive.

The family later came across the footage by chance and said they were shocked by what they described as a grave invasion of privacy.

“It wasn’t enough that terrorists broke into our house and tried to murder us, but then the BBC crew entered again, this time with a camera as a weapon, without permission or consent,” Tzeela told the Jewish News.

“This was another intrusion into our lives. We felt that everything we still had under our control was being taken from us.”

As part of the settlement, the BBC issued a letter of apology expressing regret for the incident, saying that the crew had made an “honest mistake,” believing that consent had been given for their entry, and had been no intention of hurting the family.

Horenstein said the family pursued compensation through the Israeli courts because “even in times of war, there are boundaries, and when a media outlet crosses them, it must be held accountable.”

In a statement Friday, a BBC spokesperson said, “While we do not generally comment on specific legal issues, we are pleased to have reached an agreement in this case.”

About 900 residents of Netiv Ha’asarah were eventually evacuated to locations across Israel after only one of the terrorists was killed and the other two managed to flee back into Gaza, in what the IDF has acknowledged as a severe failure to engage the enemy.

As of last week, high rates of return have been recorded in Netiv Ha’asarah and seven of the 12 other Gaza-envelope communities, according to the Tkuma Directorate, which oversees reconstruction of damaged homes, public buildings and infrastructure in the region.