Susanna Reid seemed to criticise the BBC for its failure to label Hamas terrorists.
Rob Rinder was invited into the ITV studio on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain to speak about the growing threat of antisemitism facing Jewish people in the UK in the aftermath of Hamas assaults on Israel.
On Saturday, October 7, Hamas, a terrorist outfit, staged a surprise attack on Israeli citizens, bringing Israel’s dead toll to over 1,300.
According to Palestinian health officials, at least 1,200 people have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory bombings on the Gaza Strip, while condolences have been pouring in following the verified deaths of persons who attended the event in southern Israel targeted by Hamas over the weekend.
Rob became obviously moved while discussing the situation on GMB, revealing that he knew individuals who were slain after attending the event.
He then said: ‘The essential thing is that Hamas does not speak on behalf of the Palestinian people, and it’s painful I suspect for you sitting there looking into that autocue calling these people militants, knowing what’s going to ensue, knowing where they’re planting their rockets and knowing the horror that’s going to be brought to innocent civilians.’
Susanna answered by emphasising that they had referred to Hamas as terrorists on GMB, in contrast to the BBC’s highly condemned approach on the assaults.
‘We very clearly call them terrorists,’ she said, in what could have been a reference to the BBC. ‘It was an act of terror, what happened. And it was a barbaric atrocity.’
Susanna went on to say that she had no idea that Rob personally knew people who had been killed in the attack.
‘So obviously on every level this is painful for you, I know that,’ she added.
The BBC recently replied to criticism that it was not referring to Hamas as a terrorist organisation, despite the Prime Minister and the Royal Family describing the group as such.
In nations such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Japan, Hamas is listed as a terrorist group.
The BBC said in response to the criticism: ‘Across our reporting we have explained that Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, including the UK.
‘We have reflected the response from the international community to Hamas’ actions, and featured contributors who have described them as terrorists.’
It continued: ‘We have given careful consideration to all aspects of our reporting of the Israel-Gaza conflict, both in terms of Hamas’ attacks and Israel’s response – this includes the language that we use.
‘The BBC is editorially independent; our role is to explain precisely what is happening so that the public can make their own judgements. Our longstanding position, including during previous conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has been that we do not use the term “terrorist” without attribution, in line with the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines.’
The confrontation between Israel and Palestine has lasted decades, with Israel controlling the transport of commodities into the Gaza Strip through a blockade imposed by Egypt since 2007.
After establishing control of the Gaza Strip in 1967, Israel terminated its presence in 2005. In 2007, Hamas took over as the sole ruling authority.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
