Quite a few commentators have used the phrase ‘fog of war’ recently. It’s a powerful metaphor; one I believe that it owes its origin to the work of the Prussian military analyst Carl von Clausewitz.

He employed the image of fog when describing the uncertainties of information on the battlefield, uncertainties that can lead to difficult and demanding decisions. As Sir Lonsdale Augustus Hale said in his book The Fog of War it refers to the ‘state of ignorance in which commanders frequently find themselves as regards the real strength and position, not only of their foes, but also of their friends”

As I’ve listened to the news it’s been obvious that civilians get lost in that fog too. The claims and counter claims about the existence of a famine in Gaza are proof of that. The UN-backed food security body IPC was clear: there is famine. The Israeli government flatly contradicted this assessment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting it was an ‘outright lie’.

So how do we decide who is telling the truth given the fact that international journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war, and run the very real danger of being killed if they did?

God wants Christians to be ‘the salt of the earth and light of the world’ and as a result of this I can’t let the Gaza nightmare continue without adding my small voice to all those others that are calling for an end to the current conflict, not to mention the settler turbulence in the West Bank.

After much reflection I have decided that I should accept the IPC claim. The state of Israel has good reason to deny the charge but the list of those claiming the presence of a famine seems both credible and formidable. I’m not the only one either. The Jerusalem Post has reported that the Irish President has said that the UN General Assembly should establish a force to be put together to guarantee humanitarian access if a certain proportion of the committee of the General Assembly supported it.

I have weighed the arguments as I would if I was serving as a juror and have reached the conclusion that the claims of famine in Gaza are true, although I will be the first to apologise if I am ultimately proved wrong.

Thankfully though, God never gets things wrong. Given that we need to remember that everyone of us, even the most powerful leaders and military personnel will have to stand before Him to give an account for the way we have behaved and that is fearful prospect as ‘Woodbine Willy’ the famous World War One padre understood so well. He summed it up in these memorable words “And boys, I’d rather be frizzled up in the flames of a burning ’ell than stand and look into ’is face and ’ear ’is voice say “Well”.