BBC outrage at 'Hamas apologism' in latest Israel report
The BBC has sparked fury after the broadcaster's International Editor made remarks about Israeli military's action in Gaza
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The BBC has sparked fury after the broadcaster's International Editor made remarks about Israeli military's action in Gaza.
Jeremy Bowen has been accused of "Hamas apologism" in the latest outcry over the corporation's reporting of the Israel-Hamas war.
While discussing the Israeli military's targeting of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, he said: "The priority they gave to Shifa means that once they drove into Gaza City, they killed a lot of people.
"Their argument has always been that so many people have been killed because Hamas has been using them as human shields."
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Bowen expressed doubt about the evidence shared by the Israeli military.
"The evidence up to now on the pile of Kalashnikovs there, I'm afraid is not convincing," he added.
"Wherever you go in the Middle East, you see an awful lot of Kalashnikovs."
He also suggested that Israeli authorities limit their ability to move around after raising concerns about the freedom given to journalists visiting the hospital.
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Concluding, he said: "If they cannot prove this point about human shields, the pressure for a ceasefire is going to increase."
Daniel Sugarman, Director of Public Affairs for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has condemned the BBC's reporting.
Writing on social media, he said: "Ah, I see the BBC has reached the 'maybe the pile of Kalashnikovs in the Gazan hospital actually belonged to the hospital security team' stage of their Israel reporting."
Member of the House of Lords, Kate Hoey said: "It does seem [as] if even the great Jeremy Bowen has firmly established himself as a supporter of those who oppose Israel taking out Hamas."
During the debate, the BBC defended their decision to avoid calling Hamas 'terrorists' PAOthers also took to social media to criticise the report.
One social media user wrote: "The constant delegitimisation of evidence produced by Israel, in contrast to the report that 'a man in the hospital said Israel was shooting people in the hospital at random' going unchallenged in the previous report, is quite frankly, appalling journalism."
Another implied the BBC's reputation "will never recover from this war", adding that their reporting was "Hamas apologism".