New investigation by Haaretz reveals that Israeli army ordered the Hannibal directive on 7 October so that Hamas could not kidnap Israeli citizens
By Michael Pröbsting, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 8 July 2024, www.thecommunists.net
Yesterday, Haaretz – one of the largest Israeli newspapers – has published the results of an investigation about the actions of the army on 7 October last year when Hamas launched a successful surprise attack against the settler state. [1] This report is based on testimonies of Israeli soldiers and senior army officers and has been reproduced and summarized by various other Israeli and international media. [2]
As it is well-known, Israel and its Western imperialist supporters have smeared this attack by claiming that this would have been “the biggest anti-semitic massacre since the Holocaust”, that Hamas “systematically raped women”, “beheaded babies and baked others in an oven”, etc. All these were systematic lies which the RCIT and its comrades in Israel / Occupied Palestine have denounced from the very beginning and which have become largely discredited by now. [3]
Armed with such lies, pro-Zionist governments and media in Europe absurdly accused supporters of the Palestinian liberation struggle that they would advocate the mass killing of civilians. The author of these lines has been put on trial with such a charge (“support for terrorism”) and received a (suspended) sentenced of half a year in prison. [4]
In fact, we always stated that we do not condone the killing of civilians. At the same time, we also emphasised that that the Hamas attack was aimed at striking the Israeli army and getting many hostages so that they can be freed in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. We also drew attention to the fact that a number of the “civilian victims” must have been armed settlers since there are many of such in the kibbutzim around the Gaza strip. In addition, we also explained that many assaults against Israeli civilians came not from fighters but rather from traumatised Palestinian civilians who entered Israel when the walls had fallen.
The Hannibal directive and its deadly consequences
Finally, we like many other critical journalists and pro-Palestine supporters pointed out that Israel follows since many years the notorious Hannibal directive. This is an Israeli military policy that stipulates the use of maximum force in the event of a soldier being kidnapped. In reality, this directive means that it is preferable to kill their own people than being captured by the Palestinian resistance.
The Haaretz investigation confirms in the early hours of 7 October, the Israeli army issued an order that “not a single vehicle can return to Gaza”, i.e. to shoot and kill the occupants of any vehicle moving towards the strip. This was issued because “everyone knew by then that such vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers.”
“At this point, the [Israeli army, Ed.] 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 report said.
A former Israeli army soldier also said that, in addition to firing at the abductors, soldiers can fire at junctions, roads, highways and other pathways opponents may take a kidnapped soldier through.
The investigation confirms Israeli drone attacks under the Hannibal directive at the Erez Crossing, inside the Re’im Camp and Nahal Oz post.
The report also reveals that while the Hannibal directive is formally only relevant to Israeli soldiers who could be kidnapped, the army command also used it on 7 October in order to avoid the capture of civilians by the Palestinian resistance.
Unfortunately, Haaretz does not give any figures how many Israeli soldiers and civilians were killed due to the Hannibal military procedure, but it added that “the cumulative data indicates that many of the kidnapped people were at risk, exposed to Israeli gunfire, even if they were not the target”.
However, a few cases where Israeli troops killed their own citizens on 7 October are already known. “In one case, an Israeli Air Force probe determined that Efrat Katz, 68, was likely killed by helicopter fire during an attempt by Hamas terrorists to take the Kibbutz Nir Oz resident hostage on October 7. According to the investigation, amid battles that took place in southern Israel on October 7, an IAF helicopter opened fire on a car with several terrorists in it. It was later revealed, based on eyewitnesses, videos from the helicopter, and surveillance camera footage, that the vehicle also had Israeli hostages in it. (…)
Toward the evening, as the IDF fought to regain control of the Gaza border communities, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, the commander of the IDF’s 99th Division, ordered a tank to fire on a home in Kibbutz Be’eri, where Hamas terrorists were holding 14 Israelis hostage. The tank fired two shells toward the house. Of the 14 who had been held hostage, 13 were killed in the intense firefight between Israeli troops and the Hamas terrorists. It remains unclear how many of the 13 had been harmed by the tank fire, although at least one of them, 68-year-old Adi Dagan, was said to have been killed by shrapnel.”
In summary, the Haaretz report reveals that Israeli troops had instructions on 7 October to shoot at any vehicle with hostages moving to Gaza and to attack locations where Palestinian fighters and hostages were suspected. While we don’t know how many Israeli civilian exactly have been killed by their own army, it is clear that the Zionist army actively participated in this so-called “biggest anti-semitic massacre since the Holocaust!”
Clearly, the Zionist army is the enemy of the Palestinian people, but it is also deadly for Israeli citizens!
Long live the Palestinian resistance! Down with the Zionist Apartheid state!
[1] For RCIT statement published in the first hours of this attack see “This is the Time to Expel the Occupiers!”, 7 October 2023, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/fifth-gaza-war-support-the-heroic-palestinian-resistance/. We refer readers to a special pages on our website where all RCIT documents on the 2023-24 Gaza War are compiled, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023/ and https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023-24-part-2/.
[2] Haaretz: “אף רכב לא חוזר לרצועה”: צה”ל הפעיל נוהל חניבעל כלפי חיילים ואזרחים ב–7 באוקטובר, https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/magazine/2024-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/00000190-7e1e-d7c8-a9fb-ffde182f0000?lts=1720344611092; Yaniv Kubovich: IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive, 7 July 2024, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-ordered-hannibal-directive-on-october-7-to-prevent-hamas-taking-soldiers-captive/00000190-89a2-d776-a3b1-fdbe45520000; see also Times of Israel: IDF officers invoked defunct ‘Hannibal Protocol’ during Oct. 7 fighting – report, 7 July 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-officers-invoked-defunct-hannibal-protocol-during-oct-7-fighting-report/; Al Jazeera: Israeli army used Hannibal Directive during October 7 Hamas attack: Report, 7 July 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/7/israeli-army-used-hannibal-directive-during-october-7-hamas-attack-report. All quotes are from these sources if not indicated otherwise.
[3] See e.g. Yossi Schwartz: Why Israel is claiming that on October 7th Hamas raped Israeli women and why the White House supports this claim, 6 December 2023, https://the-isleague.com/why-israel-is-claiming-that-on-october-7th-hamas-raped-israeli-women-and-why-the-white-house-supports-this-claim/
[4] See on this RCIT: Trial against pro-Palestine activist Michael Pröbsting: We are appealing the verdict! 8 May 2024, https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/petition-no-to-criminal-complaint-against-pro-palestine-activist-michael-proebsting/#anker_31 and other reports on this special sub-page on our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/petition-no-to-criminal-complaint-against-pro-palestine-activist-michael-proebsting/.