Israeli military deployed controversial Hannibal Directive during 7 Oct attack, leading to civilian casualties

This directive, initially conceived in 1986 to prevent Israeli soldiers from being captured, was activated amidst a chaotic response to a surprise attack by Hamas fighters on army outposts and surrounding villages in southern Israel.

The Hannibal directive, named after the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, who chose death over capture by Rome, was reportedly used by Israeli commanders despite being officially cancelled in 2016.

According to the Haaretz investigation, Israeli commanders ordered its deployment without any caveats or further clarification during the early hours of the attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,139 people and the capture of 251 others taken to Gaza.

Haaretz journalists reviewed military documents and obtained testimonies from soldiers and officers, revealing that the directive was employed at various locations during the attack.

The investigation highlighted that the directive's deployment was indiscriminate, failing to distinguish between soldiers and civilians being captured. At 7:18 am, a report of a kidnapping at Beit Hanoon (known to Israelis as Erez) led to the order "Hannibal at Erez," with no further explanation.

This indicated that the directive’s implications were already understood by all involved.

A message sent to the Gaza Division about five hours into the attack ordered, "Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza."

A source within Israel's Southern Command told Haaretz, "Everyone knew by then that such vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers... Everyone knew what it meant to not let any vehicles return to Gaza."

A United Nations-backed report from last month estimated that more than a dozen civilians and soldiers were lost to Israeli fire on that day. However, Haaretz reported that the exact number of Israeli losses due to the directive remains unknown.

In January 2024, Asa Kasher, the philosopher who authored the IOF's code of conduct, described the Hannibal directive as "unlawful, unethical, and horrifying." Kasher called for an investigation into the possibility of its use during the 7 October attack on three army facilities near Gaza.

According to Haaretz, a message sent to the IOF’s Gaza Division at 11:22 am on 7 October ordered that no vehicle should return to Gaza, implying that the vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers.

The report added, "At this point, the [Israeli army] was not aware of the extent of kidnapping along the Gaza border, but it did know that many people were involved. Thus, it was entirely clear what that message meant, and what the fate of some of the kidnapped people would be." The number of Israeli soldiers and civilians killed as a result of the directive is still unknown, but Haaretz confirmed that "many of the kidnapped people were at risk, exposed to Israeli gunfire, even if they were not the target."

Haaretz also reported on a tragic incident at the Supernova rave on 7 October, where an Israeli military helicopter fired on civilians. Israel reported that 364 people were killed at the event, but the exact number of those killed or injured by the helicopter remains unspecified. The report noted that Hamas fighters were unaware of the nearby music festival until they saw it through drones and those arriving via parachutes.

In the aftermath of 7 October, the Israeli government continued heavy airstrikes on Gaza, resulting in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and numerous Israeli captives being killed.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 38,345 since the conflict started on 7 October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities on Thursday, along with at least 370,000 housing units in Gaza damaged, including 79,000 destroyed completely

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that Israeli captives were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, with some confirmations by Israeli media reports.

Noa Argamani, a 26-year-old Israeli woman released in a joint operation by Israeli special forces and a US military unit in June 2024, recounted her close encounter with death when the building she was held in Gaza was struck by Israeli missiles. "I saw the missile entering the house; I was sure I was about to die. I thought that was it – but I survived," Argamani told Israel Hayom.

The use of the Hannibal directive on 7 October underscores the complex and tragic realities of conflict, raising critical ethical and legal questions about military protocols and their impact on civilian lives.

The continued loss of life under the justification of protecting Israeli citizens appears hypocritical, given that many of these casualties may have resulted from Israel's own military actions.

Furthermore, as evidenced by Israeli politicians' public speeches over the past few months, the 7 October event may be perceived as a false flag operation, providing Israel with the pretext to eliminate Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank in pursuit of the ambition for a greater Israel.