The Israeli army ordered the Hannibal Directive – a controversial Israeli military policy that aims to prevent at any cost the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces – on October 7 last year, a investigation revealed the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In a report published on Sunday, the newspaper, based on testimonies from Israeli soldiers and senior army officers, said that during Hamas’ unprecedented attack last October, the Israeli army began making decisions with limited and unverified information, and issued an order that “not a single vehicle can return to Gaza”.
“Right now, the [Israeli army] I was not aware of the extent of the abductions along the Gaza border, but I knew that many people were involved. Thus, it became completely clear what that message meant and what the fate of some of the kidnapped people would be,” the report states.
On October 7, Hamas captured dozens of Israelis, many of whom are still in captivity or were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, according to the Palestinian armed group. But many of those captured were civilians rather than soldiers, to whom the Hannibal Directive does not apply.
The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks is estimated at 1,139, while nearly 250 others have been taken prisoner, Israeli authorities say. Meanwhile, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to an Al Jazeera count based on official statistics.
Although Haaertz said it was not aware of how many soldiers and civilians were hit by Hannibal’s military actions, it added that “the cumulative data indicates that many of the people abducted were at risk, exposed to Israeli fire, even if they were not the target.” .
The report states that the Hannibal protocol “was employed at three army installations infiltrated by Hamas” and “this did not prevent the kidnapping of seven of them.” [soldiers] or the murder of another 15 observers, as well as another 38 soldiers.”
What is the Hannibal Directive?
The Hannibal Directive, also known as the Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is an Israeli military policy that stipulates the use of maximum force in the event a soldier is kidnapped, Yehuda Shaul, a former Israeli army soldier, told Al Jazeera in November . last year.
“They will open fire without constraint, to prevent kidnapping,” he said, adding that the use of force is done even at the risk of killing a captive soldier.
In addition to shooting at kidnappers, soldiers can fire at intersections, roads, highways and other paths through which opponents could lead a kidnapped soldier, Shaul added.
Israel last invoked the Hannibal Directive in 2014, during the war in Gaza that year, according to leaked military audio recordings, although the Israeli army denies using the doctrine.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed in the Israeli bombing that followed, sparking accusations of war crimes against the Israeli army.
The directive is believed to have been repealed in 2016, although it is unclear what led to its annulment. A report from Israel’s state controller also recommended that the army abolish the directive due to the criticism it received, as well as its various interpretations by the military, Haaretz said.
According to the Haaretz investigation, a senior Israeli army source also confirmed that the Hannibal procedure was “employed on October 7th”. The source said post-war investigations would reveal who gave the order.
Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesperson told the newspaper that the army “has begun to conduct internal investigations into what happened on October 7 and in the period before.”
“The purpose of these investigations is to learn and draw lessons that can be used in the continuation of the battle. When these investigations are completed, the results will be presented to the public with transparency,” said the spokesperson, according to the Israeli newspaper.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
