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A top-level internal probe of the Israeli army’s failures on October 7, 2023, has reaffirmed that the air force was ordered to carry out the Hannibal Directive a few hours after the Palestinian resistance in Gaza launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.<\/p>\n
The Hannibal Directive is a long-standing Israeli military protocol aimed at preventing the capture of Israeli hostages, even at the risk of their lives, The Cradle reported.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the air force began firing on \u201canything that moved\u201d near the Gaza border. At the same time, Israeli pilots were tasked with carrying out the previously undisclosed “Sword of Damocles” operation, which focused \u201con striking Hamas targets inside Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the end of the day, the air force carried out 945 attacks on the Gaza envelope, with helicopters firing 11,000 shells on both Hamas fighters and Israeli settlers and soldiers.<\/p>\n
According to Israeli media, air force commanders have \u201cquestioned\u201d whether the “Sword of Damocles” operation misused resources that could have helped mount a better defense of the Gaza border on October 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other findings from the probe indicated that \u201cdenial by commanders that they had been beaten\u201d along with “utter chaos at IDF headquarters” contributed to the slow response from Tel Aviv to the daring Palestinian attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple IDF sources have said that even to this day, Gaza Division chief Brig.-Gen. Avi Rosenfeld might not admit that his forces were completely defeated by Hamas, and certainly, he would not admit that it occurred before 7 a.m. on October 7,\u201d the Jerusalem Post reported.<\/p>\n
Top army commanders reportedly relied on Rosenfeld for situational reports on the Gaza envelope for several hours after his forces had already been defeated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of his superiors could imagine a situation where Rosenfeld was completely defeated so quickly, and Rosenfeld himself did not even acknowledge how bad his situation was until he called [air force commander] Omer Tishler at 9:47 a.m.,\u201d the report added, revealing that the air force \u201cdid not decide to blanket the Israel-Gaza border with aerial fire until around 10:05 a.m. \u2026 and carrying out this<\/p>\n
\u2018Hannibal Directive\u2019 did not start until around 10:30 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time army commanders got \u201c85 percent awareness level about incidents\u201d in southern Israel, most Palestinian fighters had already returned to Gaza with captives in tow.<\/p>\n
Many of the 251 Israeli soldiers and civilians successfully taken captive were later killed by Israeli airstrikes and friendly fire from soldiers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen people speak in inquiries with trembling voices, saying, \u2018We failed.\u2019 It is not easy for a commander to say, \u2018I failed\u2019\u2014and in a moment, I will say it about myself as well. They explain, take responsibility, acknowledge the difficulty, and I am telling you there is value in this\u2014first and foremost for the sake of learning,\u201d Herzi Halevi, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli army, said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Other findings from the report claim Tel Avi \u201cdrastically underestimated\u201d the capabilities of Hamas and believed the Palestinian movement was not interested in an extensive confrontation with Israel despite having intelligence to the contrary.<\/p>\n
The army’s report comes just weeks after former Israeli defense minister and wanted war criminal Yoav Gallant acknowledged ordering the army to use the Hannibal Directive to kill Israeli civilians and soldiers during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.<\/p>\n
Multiple investigations by The Cradle and other news outlets since October 2023 have disclosed that a large portion of the 1,200 Israelis who died on October 7, 2023, were killed by their army.
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