‘Atrocious’: Israel Prez Isaac Herzog flays BBC for not calling Hamas a terror group, complains to Rishi Sunak

UK’s public service broadcaster BBC has come under fire for partisan reporting once again. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, much to the embarrassment of Britain, directly complained to PM Rishi Sunak about the broadcaster’s lopsided reportage against Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas. “Atrocious”, is how Herzog characterised BBC’s coverage of the conflict. Sunak is in Israel on a visit a day after American President Joe Biden departed after a high-profile stay in Tel Aviv where he met Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli President Isaac Herzog complained about BBC’s “atrocious” refusal to brand Hamas as a terrorist group. “We feel that the way the BBC characterises Hamas is a distortion of the facts,” Herzog told Sunak who was in Israel to demonstrate solidarity with the West Asian country reeling from October 7 assault by Hamas terrorists. The Israeli leader said he understood that in democracies political leaders don’t intervene in media organisations but called for an outcry. “Because the BBC has a certain linkage and it is known as Britain as such all over the world, there has to be an outcry so that there will be a correction and Hamas will be defined as a terror organisation,” Herzog said. In an interview to DailyMail on Wednesday, Herzog said he feels the BBC’s reporting on Israel-Hamas was “atrocious”. “The fact that it does not recognise Hamas as a terror organisation requires a complete legal battle and public battle. It’s unbelievable. What other type of torture do they want before they decide it was a terrorist organisation?” Herzog asked. The Israeli President also said he has seen the booklet that each of those terrorists received. “Each one is instructed to go into an innocent village and kibbutz or city and immediately torture whoever is abducted, immediately,” he said. “I have seen scalps, I have seen horrific pictures, children being shot and incredible, painful stories of entire families wiped off the face off the earth. What else do they need in order for them to admit that we are dealing with the worst terrorist organisation in the world?” Herzog said. Herzog further said death toll of Israel in the ongoing war had been seven times worse than the 9/11 attacks, given the US’s population is much larger. “It is a battle for civilisation, a battle for humanity, and we are at the forefront of it, and we are protecting the whole world,” he said. Reacting to the BBC’s coverage on Israel-Hamas war, former CEO of Prasar Bharati said, “From Israel to India - the BBC has consistently ended up on the wrong side of issues.”

From Israel to India - the BBC has consistently ended up on the wrong side of issues https://t.co/MiAhwpQhug

— Shashi Shekhar Vempati शशि शेखर (@shashidigital) October 19, 2023

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion on October 7. Roughly 200 others were abducted. The Israeli military said Thursday it had notified the families of 203 captives. The Gaza Health Ministry said 3,478 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, and more than 12,000 wounded, mostly women, children and the elderly. Another 1,300 people are believed buried under the rubble, health authorities said. With inputs from agencies