Haaretz: The IDF used the Hannibal directive on October 7

Documents and testimonies reveal that the IDF used the Hannibal Protocol on October 7 to prevent Hamas from capturing its soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

The Hannibal directive authorizes the use of heavy weapons in the captivity of an Israeli to prevent captives from leaving the scene of the event even if it poses a danger to the captive.

Haaretz newspaper said on Sunday, that the Gaza Division’s operations and airstrikes in the early hours of October 7 were based on limited information.

The first long moments after the Hamas attack were chaotic.

Reports were arriving, and their importance wasn’t always clear.

When I understood what it meant, I realized that something horrible had happened.

The communications networks haven’t been able to keep up with the flow of information, as was the case for the soldiers who send these reports, however, the message conveyed at 11:22 am via the Gaza Division Network was understandable by everyone: No vehicle can return to Gaza.

The IDF wasn’t aware of the scale of abductions along the Gaza border, but it knew that many people were involved.

So, it was quite clear what that message meant, and what the fate of some of the abductees was.

This wasn’t the first order issued by the squad aimed at thwarting abductions even at the cost of the lives of the abductees, a procedure known in the army as the Hannibal directive procedure.

Documents obtained by Haaretz, as well as testimonies from mid- and senior-ranking IDF soldiers and officers, reveal a set of orders and procedures established by the Gaza Division, Southern Command and IDF General Staff until the afternoon hours of October 7 showing the prevalence of this measure (Hannibal directive), from the early hours after the attack and at various points along the border.

October 7 is the day Hamas surprised Israel with hundreds of militants attacking dozens of Israeli towns and military bases in the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz doesn’t know whether or how many civilians and soldiers were injured by this action, but cumulative data indicate that many of the abductees were in danger and were subjected to Israeli gunfire, even if they weren’t the target.

A senior IDF source confirmed to Haaretz that Hannibal directive’s measure was implemented on October 7.