What is the purpose of the Hannibal Directive in the IDF ?
A recent ABC report on the Israeli military's execution of the notorious Hannibal Directive against its own citizens on October 7 has contributed to the explanation of Israeli media accounts regarding the details of those killed that day.
It also highlighted that Israel has been executing its own captives from the start of the war, not just after their detention in Gaza.
Due to its indiscriminate bombing campaign targeting civilian structures in the besieged coastal enclave, Israel has killed dozens of its settlers held captive in Gaza. However, the military doctrine that initiated this strategy and its implications have received little attention.
Since the war's onset, the Israeli air force has persistently killed Israeli captives in Gaza by executing missile strikes that have devastated or compromised most of the enclave's infrastructure.
In May, a United Nations Development Program evaluation determined that the reconstruction of Gaza's devastated homes would require a minimum of 16 years, with the potential to extend up to 80 years, depending upon the materials permitted, the participants involved, and the pace of progress.
In July, the UN Environment Program stated that the removal of 40,000 tons of war debris would require 15 years to complete.
The data presented indicates that Israel has not executed a targeted military assault; rather, it has chosen to indiscriminately blast the whole territory, demolishing every standing structure within a buffer zone it aims to establish in Gaza. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the Israeli air force killed Israeli captives held in structures it targeted.
Nevertheless, this narrative did not garner the attention of the corporate media until December. Approximately 70 days into the war, three Israeli captives managed to escape from where they held, emerging together while displaying a white flag. However, trigger-happy Israeli soldiers, accustomed to firing at any moving target in Gaza, fatally shot all three Israeli captives.
Yet, the indiscriminate bombings, failed commando raids on tunnels, and the shooting of captives were not the first instances of the killing of their own countrymen. All available evidence indicates that Israel has been indiscriminately firing against and killing its own citizens since October 7, despite Israel's attempts to conceal this information.
The current ABC article references an important Haaretz piece that confirmed the activation of the Hannibal Directive on October 7, citing Israeli military sources to support the claim. Yediot Aharonot reported on the indiscriminate firing from helicopters, drones, and tanks in Israel.
The latest article in ABC effectively compiles the information presented by the Israeli side. It references Ronen Bergman's investigative article, which revealed that over 70 vehicles perceived as potentially en route to Gaza were obliterated by Israeli tank and helicopter fire, resulting in the killing of all passengers.
The report does note that Bergman’s article makes it clear that there are still question marks, however, as he states:
“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.”.
The ABC report additionally references two instances in which survivors of Israeli attacks on their countrymen have expressed their views on the matter. A resident of the colony Nir Oz reported being shot at by an Israeli military helicopter while Hamas fighters attempted to take her and others into Gaza on an electric wagon.
The Be’eri colony case was also used, wherein the report uses the testimony of an Israeli survivor and a relative of Israelis who were killed there to debunk the claims of an Israeli military internal investigation, which claimed that tank shells fired in the area resulted in no fatalities other than those of Hamas fighters.
In Be’eri colony, where 101 non-combatants were reportedly killed, survivor Yasmin Porat, who was captured by Hamas fighters, described not only tank shelling but also indicated that Israeli soldiers initiated a "very, very heavy crossfire" by firing into a building and killing 5 or 6 Israelis.
The reportage on the topic in Israeli media outlets indicates that the facts have been limited by military censorship enforced on news websites and channels.
In the absence of firsthand testimony from survivors, reliance on the internal investigations of the Israeli military, which has been involved in initiating the Hannibal Directive against its own citizens and soldiers, would be the sole alternative for ascertaining the events of that day.
However, as the ABC article highlights, eyewitness testimonies have clearly refuted the Israeli probe. Furthermore, the physical evidence from that day suggests that the Israeli military killed many more of its citizens than it lets on.
When investigative articles emerge in the Israeli media, referencing military sources and providing evidence about specific elements of the events that occurred that day, they don’t ever place all of that information in one place; thus, it falls to journalists to assemble the broader context.
Even though it's impossible to pinpoint the precise number of 1,139 Israelis killed by their own military and security forces that day, it's clear that the Israeli army itself killed many of those captured by Palestinian fighters.
Consequently, it is evident that since October 7, Israel has been killing its own captives, and this is clearly down to its trigger-happy and chaotic rules of engagement.