While previous research has examined media portrayals of civilians in conflict, often revealing biases shaped by cultural and geopolitical perspectives, few studies have compared how Global North and Global South media frame civilians across multiple conflicts unfolding simultaneously. Particularly regarding the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts. This study addresses that gap by examining BBC and Al Jazeera English coverage of civilians of these two conflicts through a qualitative analysis.

Guided by critical discourse analysis and framing theory, the study investigates how civilians are constructed in journalistic discourses and how these constructions reflect broader ideological frames. The results reveals that the BBC humanizes Ukrainian civilians and attributes blame clearly to Russian aggression, while its Gaza coverage tends to depersonalize Palestinian victims and frames Israeli actions as defensive. In contrast, the results show that Al Jazeera English gives a more balanced approach of both coverages, although it tends to remain shaped by its own regional and political context.

Furthermore, this comparative approach suggests that geopolitical positioning influences media framing. While the BBC seems to reflect dominant Western perspectives, Al Jazeera appears to challenge these by emphasizing alternative viewpoints.