Ex-Israeli war chief admits IDF killed its own civilians on Oct 7

Former Israeli war chief Yoav Gallant admitted that Israeli forces killed their own civilians and soldiers during the Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023. He revealed that the Hannibal Directive was issued, leading the Israeli army to indiscriminately fire at people.

In a recent interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Gallant was asked whether the army was ordered to implement the Hannibal Directivem a controversial military protocol aimed at preventing the capture of Israeli soldiers by any means necessary, even if it means killing them.

“I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem,” Gallant responded.

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His statement confirms Israel’s deliberate killing of its own civilians in an attempt to target Hamas fighters on October 7. Israeli soldiers reportedly opened fire indiscriminately, even at hostages being taken by Hamas.

However, multiple investigations and reports indicated that a majority of the Israeli civilians killed on October 7 were targeted by the IDF, not Hamas.

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Festivalgoers at the Nova music festival, near the Re’im military base, were also killed after Israeli helicopters opened fire in a hasty attempt to counter Hamas fighters.

Additionally, Gallant acknowledged that the ceasefire deal implemented in January 2024 was the same one Hamas had agreed to in April 2024.

He blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for delaying the agreement, which could have resulted in the release of more living Israeli captives and the handover of fewer Palestinian hostages.