'Moral paradox' Radio exchange lays bare reality versus Israel's narrative

For many decades, Israel was proud of its officials' ability to defend, argue and convince. The war in Gaza has seen the country's public diplomacy face arguably its greatest test - as was made clear yesterday morning with a robust exchange between David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, and Nick Robinson, a presenter on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

- Jason Burke

Mencer, stressing that he was speaking on behalf of the prime minister, made an uncompromising statement of Israel's arguments, including the accusation that Hamas - described as a "genocidal death cult" - used civilians as human shields.

"Israel faces a moral paradox right now. It's been created by Hamas. We have an opportunity to strike every military target, but when we do, we get condemned, you know, or we don't strike them, and we reward the use of human shields," he told Robinson.

But the core of the confrontation was Israel's blockade of Gaza. Here some listeners may have decided Mencer was involved in an attempt to obscure reliably reported reality on the ground for political, ideological and strategic ends.

Certainly, the key Israeli argument that there is "no hunger in Gaza" is hard to sustain.

The same goes for Mencer's accompanying claim that there is food in Gaza, and markets are open.