THE TIMES (UK) -- The pictures of horror are seared into our minds. The stories are part of our shared history. October 7, a brutal massacre of Israeli citizens, led by the Hamas terrorist organisation. And since then, an unremitting war between Israel and Hamas’s forces in the densely populated territory of Gaza.

Expressions of support and sympathy for Israel have rapidly turned into widespread criticism, including from allies. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are accused of the reckless use of force and the murder of civilians, while international organisations have expressed concern about inadequate flows of aid.

Last week I visited Israel with a team of military experts from six Nato countries to see for myself. As a career officer, I served for 38 years in the British Army and have been in combat in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, and I was deputy supreme allied commander of Nato.

I have seen war and know how difficult it can be to minimise civilian casualties. But I also know how hard we worked to do just that with our soldiers’ clear rules of engagement. Mistakes were made, but thankfully they were few and far between.

Basing my views about the Israel-Hamas war on UK media coverage, I arrived in Israel critical and sceptical of their military operations.

Initially we were shown footage taken from Hamas headcams of heads being hacked off with knives and garden hoes, and of women and young children being shot while Hamas fighters laughed and celebrated. The brutality was shocking and a reminder of the depths of the fanatical hatred that stands in the way of any progress.

Our briefings on IDF operations came from senior field commanders and also included time in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, observing troops in action.

Firstly let me say that what we, military observers with decades of combined experience in leading Nato armies, were told and saw was the most complex and demanding operational environment any of us had come across, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The IDF commanders explained that underneath Gaza they have discovered 125 miles of tunnels, but believe that there could be in excess of 310 miles. The areas they have cleared have tunnel shaft entrances in houses, in children’s bedrooms, mosques, schools and hospitals. The tunnels are used for fighters to move around the urban areas, appearing behind and on the flanks of troops. Suicide bombers are a constant threat. Many of the houses and tunnel entrances are booby-trapped and civilians are used as human shields.

It means that in the confusion, regrettably, errors will occur. But the real problem is whether soldiers’ rules of engagement adhere to the law of armed conflict, whether they are being applied strictly, and whether when mistakes occur they are investigated thoroughly.

Our briefing from the independent military legal directorate laid out in detail the rules designed to protect civilian life. The procedures are at least as rigorous as those applied in the UK armed forces. In addition, the Israeli military carries out civilian evacuations of war zones, forgoing the element of surprise, to which it would be entitled in armed conflict.

Phone calls and text messages to Gazan residents, loudhailers, leaflet drops and “knocking” on the roofs of targeted buildings with small non-lethal munitions to warn of an imminent strike are part of the IDF’s tactics to minimise civilian casualties.

Accompanying troops in Rafah we found that the rules of engagement were being adhered to rigorously and that a significant number of engagements were being aborted because the clearance of civilians could not be verified.

The level of casualties in Gaza is significant and will undoubtedly result in criticism of the IDF. The alternative is to clear the buildings by hand with the inevitable loss of life that would entail, especially as Hamas terrorists wait for IDF entry to set off lethal booby traps via remote detonators. Rebuilding Gaza will take an enormous international effort.

The IDF briefed us that 1,500 aid trucks were flowing into the Gaza Strip weekly and gave assurances that the quantity of food and medical supplies that they carry is sufficient to meet the needs of those displaced.

While it was not possible to verify these claims we did see a significant number of aid delivery trucks as we moved along the Philadelphi corridor near Rafah. We also saw drone video footage which appeared to show that some of the trucks entering Rafah and other towns were being intercepted at gunpoint by Hamas terrorists before reaching the refugees.

The perspectives that we gained were as a result of a relatively short visit; they are not comprehensive or definitive. However, they do indicate that there is balance missing in the reporting of events in Gaza.

In our discussions with senior officers, officials and politicians, including the defence minister and the prime minister, we urged them to open up the conduct of operations as fully as possible to objective media reporting.

There are obvious safety problems but they can and must be overcome. Journalists, too, must make a greater effort to report more accurately. I came away from the trip satisfied that the IDF’s operations and rules of engagement were rigorous compared to the British Army and our western allies.

War is terrible, but sometimes necessary. And Israeli soldiers are fighting in conditions of extraordinary complexity and risk. It’s time for the world to have its eyes opened to that.

General Sir John McColl is the former deputy supreme allied commander of Nato