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Posts Tagged ‘Hannibal Directive’

Hannibal Directive

Posted by M. C. on September 23, 2026

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Directive

Writer Eyal Weizman has stated that while the contents are still classified, “the following formulation, at the top of the directive, was made public: ‘the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces.'”[2]

How a Christian tourist would feel safe in Israel is beyond me.

The Hannibal Directive (Hebrew: נוהל חניבעל, romanized: Nóhal Khanibaál), also translated as Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is the name of a controversial procedure used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. Writer Eyal Weizman has stated that while the contents are still classified, “the following formulation, at the top of the directive, was made public: ‘the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces.'”[2] It was introduced in 1986, after a number of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive was never published, and until 2003, Israeli military censorship forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The directive has been changed several times,[2] and in 2016, IDF Chief Of Staff Gadi Eisenkot ordered the formal revocation of the standing directive and the reformulation of the protocol.[3][4]

Two versions of the Hannibal Directive may have existed simultaneously at times: a written version, accessible only to the upper echelon of the IDF, and an “oral law” version for division commanders and lower levels. In the latter version, “by all means” was often interpreted literally, as in “an IDF soldier was ‘better dead than abducted'”. In 2011, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz stated the directive does not permit killing IDF soldiers to prevent abduction.[5]The Hannibal Directive (Hebrew: נוהל חניבעל, romanized: Nóhal Khanibaál), also translated as Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is the name of a controversial procedure used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. Writer Eyal Weizman has stated that while the contents are still classified, “the following formulation, at the top of the directive, was made public: ‘the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces.'”[2] It was introduced in 1986, after a number of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive was never published, and until 2003, Israeli military censorship forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The directive has been changed several times,[2] and in 2016, IDF Chief Of Staff Gadi Eisenkot ordered the formal revocation of the standing directive and the reformulation of the protocol.[3][4]

Two versions of the Hannibal Directive may have existed simultaneously at times: a written version, accessible only to the upper echelon of the IDF, and an “oral law” version for division commanders and lower levels. In the latter version, “by all means” was often interpreted literally, as in “an IDF soldier was ‘better dead than abducted'”. In 2011, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz stated the directive does not permit killing IDF soldiers to prevent abduction.[5]

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Hannibal Directive – Named After Hannibal Lector?

Posted by M. C. on July 8, 2024

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-ordered-hannibal-directive-on-october-7-to-prevent-hamas-taking-soldiers-captive/00000190-89a2-d776-a3b1-fdbe45520000

Yaniv Kubovich

‘There was crazy hysteria, and decisions started being made without verified information’: Documents and testimonies obtained by Haaretz reveal the Hannibal operational order, which directs the use of force to prevent soldiers being taken into captivity, was employed at three army facilities infiltrated by Hamas, potentially endangering civilians as well

Gaza Division operations and airstrikes in the first hours of October 7 were based on limited information. The first long moments after the Hamas attack was launched were chaotic. Reports were coming in, with their significance not always clear. When their meaning was understood, it was realized that something horrific had taken

Haaretz Pay Wall – See more of the story here

A new report from the Israeli outlet Haaretz titled “IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive” confirms what independent outlets like The Grayzone and Electronic Intifada have been getting smeared as antisemitic conspiracy theorists for saying this entire time: that many of the Israeli deaths on October 7 were the result of an IDF policy of deliberately firing on their own people to prevent them from being taken hostage by Hamas…

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