False BBC report: Israel reveals that Gazan woman died of leukemia, not ‘malnutrition’ as BBC alleged

A Gazan woman who was evacuated to Italy and died there was suffering from aggressive leukemia, Israel revealed on Sunday, after a report by the British BBC alleged that 20-year-old Marah Salad Mahmoud Zohry died of “malnutrition.”

The British outlet, as well as several other outlets, claimed that the woman, who was “severely emaciated,” died in a hospital in Pisa after being flown to Italy as part of a medical evacuation program.

According to the University Hospital in the city, Zohry died from cardiac arrest while undergoing some tests and having started treatment less than two days after she arrived.

The hospital said she had “a very complex clinical picture” and was suffering from “severe loss of weight and muscle,” while Italian news agencies added she was severely malnourished.

After the BBC published the report with the headline claiming Zohry “died of malnutrition,” Israel corrected the report.

“20-year-old Marah Zohry suffered from leukemia,” wrote COGAT, the IDF unit coordinating humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, on 𝕏.

The @BBCWorld headline: “malnutrition”.
The facts: “leukemia”.

This is not journalism.
This is Hamas propaganda. https://t.co/m1u6ZzutFG pic.twitter.com/A1V4iffMhC

— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) August 17, 2025

“Italian authorities contacted Israel requesting Marah’s evacuation due to her illness, and Israel approved it,” COGAT noted.

“Her evacuation could have taken place earlier, as Israel had proposed several possible dates for the transfer. Israel facilitates the medical transfer of patients, with a focus on children, and encourages countries around the world to make such requests, while Hamas keeps cynically exploiting them for its twisted agenda.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein slammed the BBC on 𝕏: “The BBC World headline: ‘malnutrition’. The facts: ‘leukemia’.”

“This is not journalism. This is Hamas propaganda,” Marmorstein charged.

Both Marmorstein and COGAT published a copy of a medical report from the Cancer Center at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, confirming that Zohry suffered from “promyelocytic leukemia.”

This is a rare and highly aggressive form of blood cancer, with an average survival rate of less than a month if not treated.

Last week, the IDF and COGAT published results of an investigation into the broad campaign accusing Israel of intentionally starving the population of Gaza, which often uses pictures of emaciated children.

“Hamas’s ‘Starvation Campaign’ is a coordinated effort to mislead the public,” the IDF wrote on 𝕏.

“A thorough review by the defense establishment exposes how Hamas is misrepresenting deaths from pre-existing medical conditions as malnutrition to advance their political agenda.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented three such examples during a press conference last week.

Zohry was one of some 180 children and adults with rare diseases or serious injuries who were evacuated from Gaza to Italy with coordination from Israel.

The Italian foreign ministry said that 31 patients and their companions arrived this week.

The UK also plans to evacuate several hundred children from Gaza under a similar program, the BBC reported.