Gary Lineker is embroiled in another Gaza row as he is accused of being 'tone-deaf' after referring to the October 7 terror attacks in Israel as 'the Hamas thing'
Gary Lineker has been slammed for making 'tone-deaf' comments after seemingly referring to the October 7 attacks on Israel as 'the Hamas thing'.
The controversy-prone BBC commentator made the remark on the British-American broadcaster Medhi Hasan's Medhi Unfiltered programme.
Discussing the ongoing war in Gaza, Lineker said: 'I can't think of anything that I've seen worse in my lifetime. The constant images of children losing their lives day in, day out.
'Now obviously we all know October 7 happened, and the Hamas thing, but the minute you raise your voice against what they're now doing there, you get accused of being a supporter of Hamas.'
Unicef confirmed more than 14,000 children have been killed and 12,000 wounded in Gaza since Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7 last year. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
More than 1,100 people died in Hamas's attack against Israel on October 7, while more than 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages, Israeli tallies say.
@pulseofpal Gary Lineker, English Broadcaster and former footballer discusses why he’s been vocal about his position online compared to other public figures. Gary describes what’s happening in Gaza by saying “I cant think of anything worse that i’ve seen in my lifetime, the constant images of children losing their lives day in day out.” He also states ““It’s not anti-semtic to say what israel is doing wrong.”, “The history goes well before October 7th.” as he talks about crying from time to time because of the images of children being killed or dying from starvation on social media. #humanity #justice #palpulse
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Gary Lineker (pictured) has been slammed for making 'tone-deaf' comments after seemingly referring to the October 7 attacks on Israel as 'the Hamas thing'
A grab from a UGC video posted on Telegram on October 9, 2023, shows an armed Palestinian militant walking around the Supernova music festival
Lineker has been slammed for his 'tone-deaf' comments, with claims they minimised the atrocities of the October 7 attacks.
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said: 'Gary is not a lone heroic voice: he is one of a mob offering up one-sided, tone-deaf interventions on social media.
'It has not escaped anyone's notice that, despite his clear interest in the topic and social media habit, he has barely commented on the worst anti-Semitic atrocity since the Holocaust on October 7 - 'the Hamas thing', as he now reluctantly referred to it in passing.'
The CAA added: 'Far from being silenced, Mr Lineker's stance has become so normalised - and the voice of the mob of which he is part has grown so loud - that the BBC is desensitised to it and regularly ignores the clear breaches of its impartiality guidelines that these interventions represent.'
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.
An Israeli officer walks on the ground of the Super Nova Festival in Re'im, Israel, October 17, 2023, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7
Lineker has already broken cover this month to insist he won't stop speaking out about Gaza - as he claims he 'can't be silent'.
The Match of the Day BBC commentator claimed there is 'heavy lobbying' against people who speak out against Israel but said he had to speak out because he is 'fairly secure'.
His comments came as part of an interview with Guardian columnist and prominant Israeli critic Mehdi Hasan for 'independant and unfliltered' news site Zeteo.
The former England captain, 63, has previously landed himself in hot water for his political interventions which critics see as flagrant breaches of the BBC's impartiality rules.
In January, Lineker said he received threats after he retweeted and later deleted a post on social media calling for Israel to be banned from international sporting events, including football.