Truth a casualty

William Snowden, Burleyin-Wharfedale, Ilkley.

In 550 BC, the Greek soldier and writer, Aeschylus observed: “In war, truth is the first casualty.”

Certainly, that hypothesis has been affirmed by the war in Gaza. In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 massacre, in which men, women and children were hunted down and slaughtered, there was a hiatus.

But what I heard on BBC Radio Four shocked me: Lyse Doucet (chief international correspondent) defined it as “an audacious attack”; whilst Jeremy Bowen (Middle East correspondent) struggled to define Hamas: “Hamas...people” (In its wisdom, the BBC had prohibited the use of the term terrorists). But truth matters and its wilful suppression fosters suspicion.

Perhaps even more disturbing has been the way in which accounts of the war given by Hamas have been broadcast without reservation. The most graphic being the figures for civilian casualties, which have emphasised, with extraordinary precision, the deaths of women, children and babies.

John Spencer, is chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. He has been monitoring the war in Gaza. He has stated that the IDF has taken measures far beyond those required by the Rules of Engagement in order to minimise civilian casualties. He has declared that the casualty figures provided by Hamas are “lies”.

And yet, the media continues to broadcast those lies and thereby influence political and public opinion against Israel. If truth is the first casualty of war, fickle friends follow close behind.