‘Israel forces are happy to kill children,’ BBC anchor tells Israel’s Bennett

A BBC anchor has criticised a recent Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, in which at least 12 Palestinians were killed and more than 140 others injured, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, five minors were among the fatalities.

“Israeli forces are happy to kill children,” presenter Anjana Gadgil said during an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett.

“The Israeli military are calling this a ‘military operation,’ but we now know that young people are being killed, four of them under eighteen. Is that really what the military set out to do? To kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?”

But Bennett, who published part of the interview on his Twitter account, argued that all those killed in Jenin were “militants”.

“The fact that there are young terrorists who decide to hold arms is their responsibility.”

“Terrorists, but children,” the BBC anchor replied. “The Israeli forces are happy to kill children.”

The Israeli army withdrew from Jenin early Wednesday, concluding its largest military operation in the city in more than 20 years.

The Israeli raid, which started on Monday, has also left a trail of destruction across the West Bank city.

The Israeli onslaught triggered a wave of condemnations from several countries, including Turkiye, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and others.

READ: 80% of homes in Jenin damaged in Israel raid: Official