Held at gunpoint: BBC team detained by Israeli forces in southern Syria

Conflict in Syria

A BBC team was detained by Israeli forces while reporting on the conflict in Syria, the media organization said. The journalists were interviewing civilians near the Syrian border with Israel when they were held at gunpoint and led to a nearby military checkpoint. Inside, they were interrogated and threatened with arrest before being released more than two hours later.

Risks for journalists

The BBC said it was appalled by the incident, which occurred on Wednesday, and described Israel's behavior as a blatant violation of press freedom. The journalists were filming a group of Syrian civilians who were crossing the border and narrowly avoided crossing into Israel, thinking it was safe territory. The civilians were detained and then released by Israeli forces, who claimed that they had crossed the border intentionally.

The detentions come at a time when tensions are already high in the region due to a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Syria, where civil war has raged for more than a decade. It also underscores the dangers faced by journalists covering the conflict.

Growing tensions

The incident is likely to strain already tense relations between Israel and Britain, coming just days after London condemned an attack on a British-Iranian journalist working for Iran's English-language news channel.

It also highlights the difficulties faced by journalists operating in a highly dangerous part of the world, according to media rights advocates.