An Israeli media has blamed the military’s ‘Hannibal Directive’ as the reason that turned the Gaza border into an ‘extermination zone’ on October 7.

The report, which was released by Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on Sunday, noted that the regime's forces were directed to kill their own soldiers and civilians if needed to avoid their capture by Palestinian resistance fighters, who launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7, 2023 in retaliation for the Zionist forces’ atrocities.

"Documents obtained by Haaretz, along with testimonies from senior and middle-ranking soldiers and officers in the [Israeli army], reveal a series of orders and procedures received by the Gaza Division, the Southern Command, and the General Staff until the afternoon of October 7; details that reveal how extensive the use of the Hannibal procedure was during the first hours of the Hamas attack and at various points in the surrounding area," the paper wrote.

The Hannibal Directive or Hannibal Procedure is an Israeli military policy that says it is permissible to kill Israeli soldiers and settlers to prevent them from being taken captive by an enemy, including Palestinian resistance fighters.

Haaretz added that on 7 October, when the Gaza-based resistance movements, including Hamas, launched their operation, “Israeli forces opened fire on their own military bases, [and] settlements … using heavy weapons from attack helicopters, drones, and tanks. They wished to eliminate the Hamas fighters attacking Israel from Gaza, even if it meant also killing the Israelis.”

Haaretz noted that despite Israel’s plans, Hamas was able to take captives during the operation, asserting that “many of the 1,200 Israelis who died that day were killed by Israeli forces.”

The report actually belied previous claims by Israeli officials who alleged that Palestinian resistance fighters had killed 1,200 Israelis in their anti-regime operation.

When the directive was activated, “many civilians were in the open areas and fields … because thousands of Israelis had attended the Nova Music Festival” and when the resistance operation started, many of them took cover in the fields and forests surrounding the concert site.

A previous report by the Cradle affirmed that Israeli attack helicopters killed concertgoers at Nova, including many who were burned alive by missiles and high-caliber incendiary machine gun fire.

Haaretz' report came after earlier in June, a report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) found that Israeli forces had intentionally killed Israelis to avoid giving the Palestinian side an upper hand in possible negotiations.