Israel's critics in West appear to want them to do nothing in response to mass murder of their people – Euan McColm

Actor Steve Coogan is wrong that it goes ‘without saying that what Hamas did is evil beyond imagination’. It must be said, loudly and repeatedly

The presentation by Israeli officials of footage of the devastating barbarity of Hamas terrorists who invaded on the morning of Saturday, October 7 should not have been necessary. Before that murderous rampage had ended, videos of cheering killers, parading the bodies of their victims as trophies, had already spread around the world.

In the hours and days that followed, harrowing details of the attack – which claimed more than 1,400 lives – were revealed: we heard of parents murdered in front of their children and of children slain in front of their parents; we saw the charred remains of Israelis, burned alive; we heard testimony of survivors that should stay with us for the rest of our lives.

None of this was enough for some. Quickly, many – particularly on the left – were able to “contextualise” the horrific reality of the terrorist attack. To Hamas’s “useful idiots” in the West, this was a matter both complicated and simple. It was too complicated to merely point the finger of blame at the terrorists, yet simple enough to suggest Israel had reaped what it had sown.

Even before Israel had formulated a retaliation, the narrative had shifted onto whether the Jewish state might be planning to commit war crimes. Meanwhile, TV news reporters breathlessly repeated Hamas-provided propaganda – a missile that struck a hospital in Gaza, for example, was immediately reported as having been fired by the Israelis when, in fact, it had been launched by jihadist terrorists. And on the streets of major cities across Europe and North America, many who marched, ostensibly, in solidarity with ordinary Gazans made little effort to conceal their loathing of Jews.

Predictably, a letter issued by the organisation Artists For Palestine UK – demanding that governments “end their military and political support for Israel’s actions” and signed by more than 2,000 actors, musicians and other members of the creative industries – made no mention of the horror of Hamas’s attacks. Later, actor Steve Coogan – one of the signatories of the open letter – said it went “without saying that what Hamas did is evil beyond imagination”. It doesn’t go without saying. It should be said, loudly, clearly, and repeatedly.

Political leaders have spoken of Israel’s right to defend itself but this support has often been heavily caveated. Yes, Israel may strike back against Hamas but it must do so in such a way as to avoid any collateral damage. How, precisely, Israel is to take out Hamas’s military command when it hides among the citizenry of Gaza, using ordinary people as human shields, is not clear.

I’m not suggesting this is a straightforward matter but it is very difficult to escape the conclusion that many commentators and politicians, having explained their reasons why Israel must not take this or that course of action, leave nothing but the intolerable option of them doing nothing. Israel’s presentation of footage of the Hamas attack was not just an exercise in truth-telling, it was a defensive act against a widespread – and shameful – effort to paint the horror of October 7 as the fault of Jews.