It was revealed by a Haaretz investigation that the Israeli army ordered the Hannibal Directive on October 7 last year, a controversial military measure designed to prevent Israeli soldiers from being captured by enemy forces at any cost, and which was a controversial Israeli military policy.
It was reported on Sunday that a report by the newspaper, based on the testimony of Israeli soldiers and senior officers, stated that Israel’s army began making decisions based on information that was limited and unverified during Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Gaza last October, and that they issued an order that “no vehicles could return to Gaza at that time.”
According to an Israeli army source, “at this point, despite the fact that there was a large number of kidnappings taking place along the Gaza border, no further details were available on the extent of these kidnappings. Consequently, it was quite clear what the meaning of this message was, as well as what would happen to some of the people who were kidnapped,” the statement said in the report.
In a report released on October 7, Hamas released dozens of Israeli captives, many of whom are still being held captives or have been killed in air strikes by Israel on Gaza, according to the Palestinian armed group. The Hannibal Directive, however, does not apply to civilians who have been captured, as most were civilians and not soldiers.
There are currently 1139 people dead in Israel as a result of Hamas-led attacks, while nearly 250 others have been taken as prisoners, according to Israeli authorities. A tally based on official statistics indicating that more than 38,000 Palestinians have died in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
It should be noted that Haaertz did not state how many soldiers and civilians were injured as a result of the Hannibal military procedure. However, Haaertz did add that “the cumulative data confirms that many of the kidnapped people were at risk, as they were exposed to Israeli gunfire, even if they weren’t supposed to be.
As stated in the report, the Hannibal protocol was implemented at three military facilities infiltrated by Hamas. However, this decision did not prevent seven of the soldiers from being kidnapped or 15 other spotters, along with 38 other soldiers, from being killed.
How does the Hannibal Directive work?
There was a former Israeli army soldier, Last November that the Hannibal Directive, also known as the Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, stipulates that maximum force should be used if a soldier is kidnapped in order to prevent any further harm. According to Yehuda Shaul, this policy stipulates the use of maximum force when a soldier is kidnapped.
It is imperative for you to use force without fear of consequences in order to prevent the abduction, he said, adding the use of force will be carried out even at the risk of killing a captive soldier in the process.
As well as firing at the abductors, soldiers can also fire at junctions, roads, highways, and other pathways that opponents may attempt to take a kidnapped soldier through as well, Shaul added.
As documented in leaked military audio recordings, Israel most recently invoked the Hannibal Directive during its 2014 war against Gaza in spite of Israel’s denial that it had used the doctrine in that conflict.
The Israeli bombardment that followed led to the death of dozens of Palestinians, resulting in accusations that the Israeli army committed war crimes against the Palestinians.
According to the latest information, the directive has been revoked in 2016, although the reason for its annulment is unclear at this time. Moreover, the Israeli state comptroller also recommended the army to abolish the directive due to the criticism it has received as well as due to the varying interpretations it has received by members of the army, Haaretz reported.
A senior Israeli army source also confirmed to Haaretz that Hannibal’s procedure was “used on October 7”, according to Haaretz’s investigation. According to the source, the order was given by someone who would be revealed after the war based on investigations.
An Israeli army spokesperson told a newspaper in the meantime that the army “has already begun an internal investigation into what actually transpired on October 7 as well as the preceding period before that date.”.
This investigation is aimed at obtaining knowledge and at identifying lessons that can guide us in continuing to fight this battle in the future. In accordance with the Israeli newspaper, the results of these investigations will be presented in a transparent way to the public once they are concluded,” the spokesperson told the paper.
Timenews1 published that news.
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