A top-level internal probe of the Israeli army’s failures on 7 October 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.

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.

According to the report, at around 10:30 am, the air force began firing on “anything that moved” near the Gaza border. At the same time, Israeli pilots were tasked with carrying out the previously undisclosed ‘Sword of Damocles’ operation, which focused “on striking Hamas targets inside Gaza.”

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.

According to Israeli media, air force commanders have “questioned” whether the “Sword of Damocles” operation misused resources that could have helped mount a better defense of the Gaza border on 7 October. 

Other findings from the probe indicated that “denial by commanders that they had been beaten” along with “utter chaos at IDF headquarters” contributed to the slow response from Tel Aviv to the daring Palestinian attack.

“Multiple 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 7:00 am on [7 October],” the Jerusalem Post reports.

Top army commanders reportedly relied on Rosenfeld for situational reports on the Gaza envelope for several hours after his forces had already been defeated. 

“None 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 am,” the report adds, revealing that the air force “did not decide to blanket the Israel–Gaza border with aerial fire until around 10:05 am … and carrying out this ‘Hannibal Directive’ did not start until around 10:30 am.”

By the time army commanders got “85 percent awareness level about incidents” in southern Israel, most Palestinian fighters had already returned to Gaza with captives in tow.

Many of the 251 Israeli soldiers and civilians successfully taken captive were later killed by Israeli airstrikes and friendly fire from soldiers.

“I have seen people speak in inquiries with trembling voices, saying, ‘We failed.’ It is not easy for a commander to say, ‘I failed’ – and 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 – first and foremost for the sake of learning,” Herzi Halevi, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli army, said on Thursday.

Other findings from the report claim Tel Avi “drastically underestimated” the capabilities of Hamas and believed the Palestinian movement was not interested in an extensive confrontation with Israel despite having intelligence to the contrary.

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.

Multiple investigations by The Cradle and other news outlets since October 2023 disclosed that a large portion of the 1,200 Israelis who died on 7 October 2023 were killed by their army.

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