BBC Director-General Confronted Over Israel Coverage; Rejects Demand to Label Hamas as Terrorists

Tim Davie defends BBC's policy to maintain impartiality while labelling Hamas, during a confrontational meeting with the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs; critics argue BBC's coverage of Israel-Hamas conflict caused distress amongst staff and eroded trust amongst British Jews.

Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, has rejected a demand to label Hamas as terrorists during a meeting with Conservative MPs, arguing that the BBC must remain impartial in its reporting.
Numerous Conservative MPs, led by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, expressed their disappointment with the BBC's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, arguing it has eroded the confidence of sections of the British public, particularly the Jewish community.
During the meeting, Davie acknowledged mistakes were made in the BBC's coverage of the Gaza hospital explosion, following Israel's denial of responsibility and evidence portraying the incident as a result of a rocket fired from Gaza.
Davie responded to criticisms by suggesting to MPs to consider the ramifications if the BBC was perceived as an arm of the UK government, which could negatively impact its journalism and trustworthiness.
The BBC moved away from calling Hamas 'militants' and now describes the group as 'a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government' but maintains its stance of not calling Hamas terrorists directly.