By Romana Rubeo 
The investigation concluded that the protocol was used by the Israeli military to prevent Hamas from capturing Israeli soldiers.
An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has confirmed that the Israeli army implemented the so-called Hannibal Directive on October 7.
The Hannibal Directive is a controversial Israeli military procedure designed to prevent the capture of its soldiers, even if it results in their own deaths.
The Australian investigation concluded that the protocol was used by the Israeli military to prevent Hamas from capturing Israeli soldiers, leading to the deaths of Israeli settlers and civilians.
The report, published on ABC’s website on Friday, includes testimony from settler Omri Shefrini, who survived an Israeli tank shelling on a house in the Be’eri settlement within Gaza.
Not Good, Not Moral
ABC reported that soon after October 7, “there were some testimonies from Israeli civilians and military personnel that Israeli forces responding to the Hamas attack killed their own citizens.”
However, the report noted how “many Israelis and supporters of Israel condemned anyone who suggested it had occurred, before more testimonies and Israeli media reports confirmed it was true.”
Links in the Chain: Masada, the ‘Samson Option,’ the ‘Hannibal Directive’ and Gaza
The report, published on ABC’s website on Friday, includes testimony from Omri Shifroni, who survived an Israeli tank shelling on a house in the Be’eri settlement, located in the Gaza envelope, on October 7.
“We know that at least one hostage was killed by one of the shells,” Shifroni was quoted as saying.
According to ABC, Shifroni, who lost three of his relatives on October 7, “remains upset about the Israeli military’s decision to use heavy munitions on homes in Be’eri.”
“I think it was not the right decision, not a good decision and not moral,” he was quoted as saying.
Haaretz Report
Last July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the Israeli army ordered the activation of the Hannibal Procedure, which included the killing of both detainees and their captors, during the military operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance on October 7.
An investigation by the newspaper confirmed that the Israeli army issued orders to ensure no vehicle was allowed to return to Gaza during the attack, despite the risk to the residents of the Gaza envelope.
“This was not the first order given by the division with the intent of foiling kidnapping even at the expense of the lives of the kidnapped, a procedure known in the army as the ‘Hannibal procedure’,” the paper reported.
Hannibal Procedure Activated – Israeli Army Ordered to Kill Civilians on October 7
The investigation was based on “documents obtained by Haaretz, as well as testimonies of soldiers, mid-level and senior IDF officers,” which “reveal a host of orders a
Although the exact number of Israeli civilians killed due to the activation of the protocol could not be determined, the report indicates 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.”
According to the newspaper, the protocol “was employed at three army facilities infiltrated by Hamas”.
Haaretz explained that the protocol was widely used at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, the Re’im army base, and the Nahal Oz outpost.
“This did not prevent the kidnapping of seven of them or the killing of 15 other spotters, as well as 38 other soldiers,” the report said.
‘False Zionist Narrative’
In a statement published on Sunday, the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said that the investigation by the Australian newspaper “confirmed that the zionist occupation army killed dozens of settlers under the so-called Hannibal Directive”.
The report “is further evidence of the lies in the occupation’s narrative, and the deception and manipulation it uses to cover up its failure, confusion, and mistakes on that day,” the statement added.
According to Hamas, the “false Zionist narrative” about the events of October 7 is “aimed to demonize the resistance and the Palestinian people in order to justify the genocide against the Gaza Strip.”
The movement called on the international community to “stop the genocide being committed in the Gaza Strip and to hold the criminal Netanyahu and the occupation leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes against children and unarmed civilians.”
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,972 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,761 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.
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