The horror of Israel’s ‘Hannibal Directive’
The truth of just how violent the IDF are prepared to be, not just to Palestinians but their own people as well is shielded behind offical narrative denial and accusations of anti-semitism by any who make them, but this report on ABC strips bare the allegations against the IDF on October 7th that they opened fire intentionally upon their own citizens to prevent them from being kidnapped.
It’s called the ‘Hannibal Directive…
“Hannibal at Erez, dispatch a Zik [attack drone],” came the command on October 7.
Those words, reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in July, confirm what many Israelis have feared since the Hamas attacks on October 7 in southern Israel.
Israeli forces have killed their own citizens.
Israeli authorities say more than 800 civilians and around 300 soldiers were killed on October 7.
A number of Israeli hostages have since died in Gaza.
Israelis are still reeling from the horror and pain of the Hamas-led terror attack, which was the bloodiest single day in Israel’s history.
But the Israeli military is coming under increasing pressure to reveal just how many of their own citizens were killed by Israeli soldiers, pilots and police in the confusion of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities.
Survivors and relatives have been asking not just “what went wrong”, but whether the military invoked the controversial — and supposedly rescinded — “Hannibal Directive”.
What is the Hannibal Directive?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the directive was named at random by a computer program, but Hannibal was the famous Carthaginian general who took poison rather than be captured by the Romans.
The doctrine, written in 1986 in response to the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, gave permission for Israeli forces to fire on enemies holding their comrades hostage — even at risk to those hostages.
Its authors said the directive did not allow captives to be killed, but critics say that over time an interpretation spread through the military that it was better to kill comrades than to allow their capture.
“They interpreted it as if they are [meant] to intentionally, deliberately kill the soldier in order to foil the attempted abduction, and that was wrong,” Israeli philosopher Asa Kasher, who wrote the IDF code of ethics, told the ABC.
“That is legally wrong and morally wrong and ethically wrong, it’s wrong on all accounts.”
In 2011, Hamas successfully used an Israeli hostage to secure a major prisoner exchange, swapping one Israeli soldier, tank gunner Gilad Shalit, for more than 1,000 prisoners, including the current Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar.
After October 7, there were some testimonies from Israeli civilians and military personnel that Israeli forces responding to the Hamas attack killed their own citizens.
Nevertheless, many Israelis and supporters of Israel condemned anyone who suggested it had occurred, before more testimonies and Israeli media reports confirmed it was true.
The IDF has not confirmed or denied a version of the Hannibal directive was applied on October 7, only saying it is one of many things from that day under investigation.
In response to questions from the ABC, the Israeli military provided a statement saying: “The IDF is currently focused on eliminating the threat from the terrorist organisation Hamas.”
“Questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage.”
‘This was a mass Hannibal’
In July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed commanders in the IDF gave the order to fire on troops who had been captured by Hamas at three separate locations, explicitly referencing the Hannibal Directive.
One former Israeli officer, Air Force Colonel Nof Erez, told a Haaretz podcast the directive was not specifically ordered but was “apparently applied” by responding aircrews.
Panicked, operating without their normal command structure and unable to coordinate with ground forces, they fired on vehicles returning to Gaza, knowing they were likely carrying hostages.
“This was a mass Hannibal. It was tons and tons of openings in the fence, and thousands of people in every type of vehicle, some with hostages and some without,” Colonel Erez said.
Air force pilots described to Yedioth Ahronot newspaper the firing of “tremendous” amounts of ammunition on October 7 at people attempting to cross the border between Gaza and Israel.
“Twenty-eight fighter helicopters shot over the course of the day all of the ammunition in their bellies, in renewed runs to rearm. We are talking about hundreds of 30-millimetre cannon mortars and Hellfire missiles,” reporter Yoav Zeitoun said.
“The frequency of fire at the thousands of terrorists was enormous at the start, and only at a certain point did the pilots begin to slow their attacks and carefully choose the targets.”
Tank officers have also confirmed they applied their own interpretation of the directive when firing on vehicles returning to Gaza, potentially with Israelis on board.
“My gut feeling told me that they [soldiers from another tank] could be on them,” tank captain Bar Zonshein told Israel’s Channel 13.
Captain Zonshein is asked: “So you might be killing them with that action? They are your soldiers.”
“Right,” he replied, “but I decided that this is the right decision, that it’s better to stop the kidnapping, that they won’t be taken.”
Investigative journalist Ronen Bergman wrote for Yedioth Ahronot newspaper that the military had enacted the Hannibal Directive at midday on October 7.
“The IDF instructed all its fighting units in practice to follow the ‘Hannibal Directive’, although without clearly mentioning this explicit name,” he said.
“The instruction is to stop ‘at all costs’ any attempt by Hamas terrorists to return to Gaza, using language very similar to the original ‘Hannibal Directive’, despite repeated assurances by the security establishment that the procedure has been cancelled.”
Bergman’s investigation found 70 vehicles were destroyed by Israeli aircraft and tanks to prevent them being driven into Gaza, killing everyone inside.
“It is not clear at this point how many of the abductees were killed due to the activation of this [Hannibal] order on October 7,” he wrote.
…if the IDF are prepared to target their own civilians in this manner, what the Christ do they allow against the Palestinians?
It is not good enough to gloss over this and if our GCSB is helping target potential war crimes for Israel, that needs immediate investigation!
Potential intelligence sharing with Israel must be investigated – Greens
Concerns have been raised that our spy arrangements may mean that intelligence is being shared between Aotearoa and Israel. An urgent inquiry must be launched in response to this.
“Any potential connection to Israel’s genocidal regime must be investigated. Aotearoa cannot afford to have any links to the crimes against humanity being committed in Gaza,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Teanau Tuiono.
“As a nation, we have a proud and enduring history of standing up for peace and fighting for justice where injustices lie.
“Any possibility of us supporting Israel’s illegal military operations must be investigated. Any connection to the atrocities being committed by Israel would represent a complete betrayal of the values and moral standards this country is grounded in.
“Associate Professor Treasa Dunworth, Dr Max Harris and Vinod Bal were incredibly clear in their letter to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security: There is cause for concern that our intelligence is being gathered in a way which may ultimately see it being shared with Israel.
Our military and Intelligence apparatus should not be open to Israel to use in bombing and killing civilians!
We may not be pulling the trigger, but we are aiming the gun!
This demands urgent attention because the violence is ongoing.
These are serious people asking hard questions and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Brendan Horsley has a legal obligation to ensure whatever intelligence is being shared is not being used to kill civilians!
That he is merely mulling the issue up is concerning enough, there has to be an immediate political response here that demands he take it seriously and urgently review the current situation and what ever has been already passed along!
The Political representatives of NZ must urgently add their voices to demand the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security does his job and honestly tell New Zealanders we are not enabling war crimes!
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
Israel has a population nearly ten million people.
Its per capita GDP per head of population works out at between $53,000 and $54,000 for 2024.
It is estimated the USA gives Israel around $3.8 billion a year.
Bank of Israel estimates that by 2025 cost of present war is $53 billion. (U.S.dollars).
Leaving all moral questions aside – who is going to pay for Israel’s genocide?
Oh sorry I forgot! A shower of gold will fall from the heavens!
As in times past Yahweh will come to rescue his chosen people in the land he promised to them alone!!
(question – does writing this make me anti- semitic or just critical of Israel?)
“Leaving all moral questions aside – who is going to pay for Israel’s genocide?”
US taxpayers will. Just like they’ve been paying to reshape the Middle East by negating any threat to Israel, be it by bribery (aka “foreign aid”) in the case of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia etc, or by bombing the shit out of and/or performing regime change in the case of Iraq, Libya, Syria and, coming next, Iran.
The reason the US gives Israel a blank check is because the Israel Lobby wields such power over US politics. Look at the way that Congress practically felated Netanyahu em masse when he recently addressed them, when they weren’t giving him 60-odd standing ovations, that is. They’re all on the payroll, and those that aren’t can’t have a political career.
Mt 23:38 is the quickest way to show that Israel is not serving Yahweh. Jn 8:34 shows who they obey
You look at how Israel behaves, and it’s quite obvious why it leads to friction and antipathy from non-Jews.
The best thing that can happen for the “Jewish cause” is that Jews are “victimised.” Of course, it doesn’t have to be real, it just has to appear that way. Like when they paint swastikas on synagogue walls and claim “the neo-Nazis are back!”
This extends to murdering their own people on October 7th, given the propaganda value. “The Holocaust” “irrational antisemitism” expressions of “the world’s oldest hatred” and so on – all of these are cited by Jews to give themselves a free pass with their behaviour, and particualrly Israel’s behaviour.
After, why was Israel even established? Because of “the Holocaust” “irrational antisemitism” expressions of “the world’s oldest hatred” and so on, or course.
Critising Israel? “yeah, but the Holocaust!”
Noticing collective Jewish behaviour with negative consequences? “oh my God, it’s another Holocaust!”
Noticing the extent and effect of Jewish political influence in countries that are not Israel? “world’s oldest hatred and an antiesmitic trope!!”
If “antisemtism” (or claims thereof) disappeared overnight, the biggest losers would be Jews, because it is the thing that justifies and excuses their behaviour (which ironicaly, is the thing that leads to antisemitism).
Xenophon speaks for me. In a country surrounded by terrorists and murderous hatred (fed by myths of innocence masquerading as ‘history’), the Israeli government has to make ‘military decisions’ to protect its state. Thus the universal conscription and the ruthless decisions. Israel is not innocent, but it faces annihilation if its government’s decisions put its people under the power of the people that hate them.
Jews and Palestinians lived side by side each other for eons…in fact the ‘Middle East’ was one of the few places on earth that welcomed Jews. Certainly, Europe didn’t want them. Not until Israel started to come into being did this situation change. Make of this, what you will, but again, history paints an entirely different picture to the one you believe in now. In short, Israel – Zionism is the problem and unfortunately, not only for the Middle East……