The Israeli military ordered the “Hannibal Directive” on 7 October, according to a report in the Israeli media on Sunday.
The “Hannibal Directive” is a military protocol where Israeli soldiers would kill captives and their captors to stop enemies from being able to use Israeli citizens as bargaining chips.
The directive dates back to the 1980s but was revised after Hamas members abducted a soldier in 2006. While it officially does not allow soldiers to kill captives intentionally, it has been used and interpreted it in this way by Israel on multiple occasions.
Haaretz obtained documents and testimonies from soldiers and mid-level and senior army officials revealing orders and procedures by the army’s Gaza Division, showing the procedure was widespread “from the first hours following the [7 October] attack and at various points along the border”.
A “very senior” army source confirmed to Haaretz that the procedure was used on 7 October. The division was given the order by Israeli command that “not a single vehicle can return to Gaza”, which the army understood as a green light to implement the directive.
While the publication does not know how many civilians and soldiers were hit, cumulative data shows many of the captives were at risk and exposed to Israeli gunfire, even if they were not the target.
Haaretz notes the directive was used throughout the morning of 7 October and was employed at many locations Hamas had infiltrated, including the Erez border crossing, the Re’im army base and the Nahal Oz outpost.
One incident where it is known that the army hit civilians was in the house of Pessi Cohen at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 13 out of 14 captives were killed.
“The instruction,” says the Haaretz source in Southern Command, “was meant to turn the area around the [Gaza] border fence into a killing zone, closing it off toward the west.” Israel forces allegedly opened fire indiscriminately on any suspected case of Hamas abducting citizens or fleeing back into Gaza.
As Haaretz’s source further puts it: “all forces in the area received permission to open fire at anyone approaching the border area, without any restrictions.”
The army is expected to publish results on whether the division commander in charge of operations in Be’eri implemented the Hannibal Directive.
The Israeli army has admitted in the past to using the Hannibal Directive but has refused to say whether it was ordered on 7 October.
The same publication reported an investigation by the Israeli police found that an Israeli military helicopter opened fire at people who attended the Nova music festival during the Hamas attack.
Another Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, in January also reported the Israeli army implementing the protocol on 7 October, stating the army was issued orders to prevent “infiltrators” from returning to Gaza “at any cost”, even at the expense of killing hostages.
