Global fast food giant McDonald’s has admitted that it is facing a ‘meaningful business impact’ due to boycotts over Israel’s siege of Gaza.

A statement by CEO Chris Kempczinski said that the misinformation leading to the business being impacted was “disheartening and ill-founded”.

“In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens,” the CEO said.

Almost 5% of a total of 40,000 McDonald’s outlets in the world are located in the Middle East.

Calls for boycott have grown since McDonald’s Israel announced it was giving free meals to the Israeli Defence Force. Since then the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has officially called for the fast food company to be boycotted for its support of Israel.

Although global outlets are owned by locals in every country, proponents of the movement have said that the frachises pay the global company which is linked to its Israel francise as well.

The backlash in Muslim countries also made its way to Pakistan, where McDonald’s had to issue a statement to clarify it was not linked to Israel.

“We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone,” the CEO said in the statement.

McDonald’s made the admission after a similar statement by coffee giant Starbucks which said that the company’s outlets were facing vandalism and threats.

Starbucks is already embroiled in a conflict after it sued the Workers United union in October, which represents thousands of workers at about 360 US stores, after the union briefly posted a statement on social media that the company said “reflected” the union’s “support for violence perpetrated by Hamas”.