The BBC's head of news has been slammed after telling members of staff that the Hamas government and its military wing are "different".
Deborah Turness intended to give staff guidance in the fallout of broadcasting the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
A recent ruling found the BBC broke editorial guidelines by not disclosing that a boy at the centre of the documentary was the son of Ayman Alyazouri, the deputy minister of agriculture.
Turness told a meeting that there was a difference between the Gaza government and its military, both of which are run by Hamas.
The UK Government does not make such a distinction, as the group has been proscribed "in its entirety" since 2021.
PA
|Deborah Turness spoke to staff in a video call
In a video to staff, Turness said: "I think it’s really important that we are clear that Abdullah’s father was a deputy agriculture minister, and therefore was a member of the Hamas-run government, which is different to being part of the military wing of Hamas.
"Externally it’s often simplified that he was in Hamas and I think it’s an important point of detail that we need to continually remind people of the difference."
Turness did not make any suggestion that the BBC documentary should not have been pulled.
Sources told The Telegraph the issue was brought up by a member of the BBC Arabic service, who requested clarification over the issue.
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BBC | BBC's 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone' 'documentary' was narrated by the son of Hamas's deputy agriculture minister Ayman AlyazouriThe BBC has come under fire for the documentary from Jewish groups who have called for Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, to resign over the scandal.
Former head of BBC Television Danny Cohen said: "The head of BBC News does not appear to understand that all elements of Hamas comprise a single terrorist organisation, as the UK government have made very clear.
"A terrorist organisation dedicated to the genocidal destruction of Jewish people. I’m shocked that Ms Turness wishes to make this distinction and actively encouraged BBC journalists to do the same.
"It is both ignorant and dangerous and is further evidence of why so many British Jews do not feel they can trust the BBC."
GETTY | BBC Broadcasting HouseA spokesman for the broadcaster said: "The BBC constantly makes clear on our programmes and platforms that Hamas are a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government and others.
"We are also clear that we need to describe to our audiences the complexities of life in Gaza, including within the structure of Hamas, which has run the civilian functions of Gaza.
"Deborah Turness was answering a question about how we described the father of the narrator in our Warzone film. She did not imply that Hamas are not a single terrorist organisation.
"As we have said, there was an editorial breach in this film, and we are sorry. We will not show the film again in its current form and we should not have used this child as the narrator."