The former prime minister of Israel has accused the BBC of taking sides in its coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Naftali Bennett said the broadcaster lacked “moral clarity.”

The comments came during an interview on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show as host Victoria Derbyshire raised concerns about the impact of the bombing campaign in Gaza on civilians.

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She read out a quote from the Geneva Convention: “The parties to the conflict shall confine their operations to the destruction or weakening of the military resources of the adversary and shall make a distinction between the civilian population and combatants.

“And between civilian objects and military objectives.”

Mr Bennett replied: “That’s exactly what we’re doing. That’s exactly why we’re allowing civilians to evacuate before pounding them.”

As the host tried to intervene, Mr Bennett said to her: “You asked the question, would you let me answer.”

He said Hamas had “butchered babies, burnt them alive.”

“They pulled a baby out of a pregnant mum and then beheaded the baby, beheaded the mum,” he added.

“This is what we’re dealing with. With all due respect, I think the Geneva Convention first and foremost tells a country you need to defend yourself and we will defend ourselves.”

Mr Bennett than raised the corporation's coverage of the bombing of the al Ahli hospital on Tuesday night that Gaza’s health ministry said killed 471 Palestinians and wounded 314 others.

Israel has said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.

Initially, the BBC reported the line from Palestinian officials, that an Israeli airstrike was to blame for for the explosion.

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Mr Bennett said: “I know that last week a hospital was fired by Islamic Jihad that fired a rocket on it and BBC said that it was Israel but it wasn’t Israel.

"And I understand that BBC has taken a side, on the Gazan side, because all your questions are only about the Gazan civilians.

“You haven’t asked one question about those children. From the very beginning of this interview, you’re just asking me about them but it seems you care little about our side.”

Ms Derbyshire said that this was “not true.”

“If you think there’s a balance here between two equal sides then you are lacking moral clarity and BBC I must say is lacking moral clarity," he added.

The corporation was defended by former director general.

Greg Dyke told Sky News programme Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “At times of crisis, the BBC always gets attacked by both sides, always, go back to Falklands.

“I seem to remember back in the Falklands (war), (Prime Minister) Mrs. (Margaret) Thatcher attacked the BBC for not saying… ‘our boys’ as opposed to British troops.

“I think (the message) for the BBC (is)… ‘Don’t lose your nerve, keep trying.”

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On Friday, Tim Davie, the current Director General, met the Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl and its chief executive Michael Wegier to discuss their “outrage” at Hamas being described as militants instead of terrorists.

The Jewish group said the BBC had confirmed it is no longer the corporation’s practice to call Hamas militants, but instead is describing the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK Government and others, or simply as Hamas.