Israel Has a Nasty Habit of Killing Its Own

October 7 was not the first time that Israelis killed their own people for strategic or propaganda purposes.

An official investigation by a leading Israeli newspaper has found that on October 7, 2023, Israel invoked the “Hannibal Directive” towards its own citizens. [Source: Yedioth Ahronoth]

Israel’s cold-blooded “Hannibal Directive”

In 1986, three soldiers from Israel’s Givati Brigade were captured by Hezbollah while operating in Southern Lebanon, and area that Israel had been occupying since 1982. Hezbollah eventually killed the prisoners, but finally agreed to return their remains 10 years later in 1996, in exchange for Israel returning the bodies of 123 Hezbollah fighters.

Following the 1986 incident, Israeli army commanders drew up the “Hannibal” doctrine, which decreed that no Israeli soldier was to be taken alive; that all possible measures would be taken to kill the enemy captors, even if it meant killing the captured soldier.

Chairman General Yossi Peled, who is credited with drafting the original Hannibal Directive in 1986. {Source: Wikipedia | Photo By לא ידוע. התמונה הוזמנה ונקנתה על ידי השר].

According to Haaretz, the original directive stated that “in case of capture, the main mission becomes rescuing our soldiers from the captors, even at the cost of hitting or wounding our soldiers.” The directive was drafted without seeking legal advice, according to the article.