Editorial director Gavin Fang on Thursday conceded the organisation's reporting in 2025 of claims about thousands of babies facing imminent death in Gaza was a "bad mistake".
But he said the government-funded broadcaster aimed to be impartial and platform a range of voices.
Anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal earlier said there was a strongly held perception in the Jewish community that the ABC was unreasonably focusing on the war in the Middle East and presenting biased and inaccurate reporting about the conflict.
"I'm not in any way suggesting that they shouldn't cover the matters that they consider important, but there are also lots of important issues around the world," Ms Segal told the royal commission into anti-Semitism.
"There are major famines, there are wars that we don't hear about at all in Africa."
But Mr Fang disagreed with the assessment, arguing the ABC aimed to present news accurately and impartially.
"We seek to, where relevant, hear from affected parties on a variety of sides of the conflict," he told the inquiry.
"That means hearing from both Palestinians and from Israelis ... hearing from government sources and from non-government."
Mr Fang was pressed on one story reported by the ABC in May 2025 that included comments from a United Nations official suggesting 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours without urgent aid.
The figure was later found to be inaccurate, and Mr Fang said the broadcaster's decision to issue a correction on TV later in the afternoon but not publish a more general correction until more than a week later was inadequate.
"It was a bad mistake," he said.
"The issue here was that we wanted to make sure that the error had not been replicated in other places."
At the time, the ABC ombudsman found the incident breached the broadcaster's editorial standards.
Ms Segal said a separate oversight committee should be established to ensure the broadcaster followed its rules, arguing the ombudsman was not sufficiently independent.
"They can mark their own homework," she said.
"They are, with respect, judge, counsel and jury. They are all of it."
A group of protesters holding Palestinian flags and calling for sanctions on Israel stood outside the royal commission and were closely monitored by police.
Demonstrators held signs describing the inquiry as a "farce" and condemning what they described as Israel's "genocide" in Gaza.
In a statement before the hearing, the ABC said while most complaints over its coverage of the war in Gaza alleged bias, the criticism came from all sides.
"In the six months July-December 2025, 51 per cent of complaints claimed the ABC's Israel-Gaza coverage was broadly pro-Palestinian and 47 per cent claimed it was broadly pro-Israel."
But Ms Segal did not accept an equal number of complaints meant the story was covered correctly.
"It could have the story very wrong, and a lot of people from different perspectives would be complaining," she said.
"I don't think it proves the fact that there's accuracy."
Ms Segal also took aim at SBS's use of death statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry, claiming the figures were "grossly inaccurate" and failed to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
In its submission to the inquiry, SBS has pointed to its extensive coverage of anti-Semitism, including broadcasts in other languages such as Hebrew, and its role in reporting on the Bondi terror attack.
"SBS unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism and affirms the right of Jewish Australians to live with safety, dignity and a true sense of belonging," it said in a statement.
"Our submission to the royal commission highlights the vital role trusted, independent public service media plays in strengthening social cohesion."
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