I wake up every morning in dread, grabbing my iPhone to see what horrors the night has brought. And every morning the list of the dead grows longer. More families that will never know unalloyed joy again. I wish it would just end. Every day I have to pick a side. On one side is Israel’s right to defend itself, at great cost and with great sorrow. On the other side, Hamas. Every day I pick the same side: Israel. Not because I don’t value the lives of Palestinians. Not because I am brutal or bloodthirsty.

I side with Israel every morning because I believe in the fundamental right of Israel to exist, in the right of its citizens to security and in the essential duty of its democratically elected government to ensure that security. Three simple beliefs which, if we replace the name of Israel with that of any western democracy, would not be controversial.

We now know, without a doubt, that Hamas fires rockets indiscriminately at civilians in Israel, that Hamas has spent what little it received in money and materials to build tunnels to facilitate killing and kidnapping civilians in Israel and that it uses the civilian population of Gaza as human shields. On these facts, even supporters of Hamas or ardent opponents of Israel’s actions agree.

Israel’s government is not only justified but obliged to use force to defend its citizens from the Hamas regime. So why the sense of unease? Because of the sheer scale of the death and destruction. I cannot help but feel sadness and admiration for the bravery of Israeli soldiers who have lost their lives defending their country and their people. Equally, I feel enormous compassion for the innocents in Gaza who have lost lives, loved ones and homes.

Read the article in full at the Sunday Times.