what is the “Hannibal directive”, what could the Israeli army use?

How can we free the hundred hostages held by Hamas without risking an even bloodier escalation in Gaza? This dilemma remained unanswered in Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Monday October 9. The Israeli Prime Minister promised an attack “massive“against Hamas with a “unprecedented strength” which suggests the harsh method against Hamas. For its part, the Palestinian Islamist movement has warned that a hostage will be executed each time Gaza is bombed without warning.

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The Israeli army, which is also trying to free the hostages, has the “Hannibal directive” in its arsenal. A secret protocol that has existed since the 1980s to resolve hostage-taking of Israeli soldiers and senior military officers. Renaud Girard, a leading international reporter and columnist, covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and followed the Israeli army: it was IDF soldiers who spoke to him about this Hannibal directive.

“Don’t give in, don’t negotiate to get the soldier back”

“We don’t give anything to the hostage taker, we don’t speak with him, we try to kill him. Even if it puts the lives of the hostages held by this terrorist at risk.“, summarizes Renaud Girard. Before recalling: “Hannibal is this great Carthaginian leader who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans. This is what this procedure means for the Israeli army: we do not negotiate, we give nothing to the enemy, we use all means against him.

Although secret, we know that this directive has been tested in the past in the Israeli army. “The Hannibal Directive was put in place by the Israeli army in 1986 when two of its soldiers were taken hostage by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.”recalls the major reporter.

Since then, the procedure has been used several times, according to Renaud Girard, notably in 2014 during the disappearance of soldier Hadar Goldin in Rafah in the south of Gaza. “The army bombed Gaza to deathremembers the great reporter, without giving anything up, without negotiating to get the soldier back.” The idea, he told franceinfo, is therefore not to give any bargaining chip, to protect oneself from negotiations with a view to the possible release of Palestinian prisoners. This was the case for the release of soldier GIlad Shalit in 2011 after five years of captivity against more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners. “In 2017, the Hannibal procedure was relaxed a littleunderlines Renaud Girard. From now on, the General Staff of the Armed Forces is more vigilant to avoid being caught by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.”

“Surprise effect”

“It is likely that this Hannibal procedure will be applied in the coming days in Gaza”believes Renaud Girard. “But there will still be attention paid by the IDF to the precision of the shots and to the verification of the intended targets, he nuances, so as not to risk indictment by the International Criminal Court.” All this risks remaining secret, because “The Israeli government wants to create an element of surprise and is not going to reveal its strategy to its enemy.”

“To free all the hostages, it is likely that Hamas will demand the release of all of its prisoners.”

Renaud Girard, senior reporter

at franceinfo

“Approximately 4,000 Palestinians are prisoners in Israel”, according to the big reporter. And the leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, declared on Saturday that the aim of the “Flood of Al-Aqsa” operation was to liberate “[leur] land, their sacred sites, [leur mosquée] Al-Aqsa and [leurs] prisoners”. The Palestinian Islamist movementaccount“on the hostages “to prolong the war”believes Dominique Trinquand, former French military leader.

“Talks could last a long time, abounds Renaud Girard. But today, it seems that the Israeli government is in a process of harshness, of muscular response. He does not intend to give in to Hamas’ possible demands.” concludes the major reporter.