Israeli soldiers attacked their own people on October 7, former defense minister confirms

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(LifeSiteNews) -- Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant admitted last week that Israel had used the notorious “Hannibal Directive” on October 7.

Speaking in an hour-long interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Gallant, who was sacked by Netanyahu was asked, “Was the order given to use Hannibal Directive?”

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

A July 2024 report on the use of this directive had been downplayed as allegations. So why is the former Israeli defense chief now saying his forces were indeed ordered to kill their own people?

His startling account raises serious questions of a policy of organized chaos in the Israeli state.

Gallant says he was informed of the October 7 attacks by his daughter: “My daughter calls me and says, 'There are alarms in Tel Aviv.'"

As Yonit Levi reported for Israel’s Channel 12, “This is how the minister of defense received the initial news of the worst disaster in the history of the State of Israel.”

Israeli opposition leaders have all accused Netanyahu of failing to act to prevent the October 7 attacks, for which he received repeated warnings.

At the same time, people like his National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were staging provocative protests, which Israel’s own internal security service, Shin Bet, warned on October 5 would lead to an outbreak of violence.

Gallant said in the interview that Ben-Gvir’s actions had intentionally “ignited the situation” with repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Despite all this, on the day of the attacks, the only person to inform the head of the army is his daughter.

Netanyahu first tried to sack Gallant in April 2023, following Gallant’s criticism of Netanyahu’s politicized judicial reforms. In his Thursday interview, Gallant says these “legal reforms” were “a contributing factor to the October 7 attacks” - placing more blame directly on Netanyahu.

Following outraged protests, known in Israel as “Gallant Night,” Netanyahu reversed the decision to sack Gallant in 2023, who remained minister of defense until he was ousted on November 5 of last year.

READ: Israel Defense Forces plans ‘exit options’ for Gaza residents

“Gallant Night II” followed, with protests ignored this time. Gallant warned that “moral darkness has fallen on Israel” in a speech following his removal.

Ben-Gvir celebrated Gallant’s firing, saying “it is not possible to achieve absolute victory” in Israel’s war on Gaza with the army under him. Gallant, a man who called for a “siege” on “human animals,” was seen by the Israeli national security minister as an “obstacle,” according to the Times of Israel.

Ben-Gvir had called for Gallant’s removal in May 2024, after Gallant had criticized Netanyahu for having no “day after” plan for Gaza following the war’s end.

Whilst Netanyahu explained the sacking followed a breakdown of trust, Gallant said he was removed because he urged Netanyahu to accept a deal to return the Israeli hostages, and demanded an inquiry into the October 7 attacks.

Netanyahu has refused to do both for over a year, and was rumored to have been pressured to accept the Trump-brokered hostage and ceasefire deal by Miriam Adelson, a major donor to Trump.

Gallant had also derided Netanyahu’s talk of “absolute victory” in Gaza as “gibberish” in remarks leaked from a meeting in August 2024. When challenged, Gallant replied, “I am prepared to debate with facts and action. I might be weak with media and politics, but on security, I know what I am talking about.”

Gallant infamously declared “a complete siege on the Gaza Strip” on October 9, announcing, “There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”

He has been accused of “war crimes” by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which vowed to pursue its case against him despite the imposition of sanctions on its staff by President Donald Trump. As the BBC reported yesterday:

“Judges at the court said there were 'reasonable grounds' that Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif of Hamas bore 'criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.'”

In response to the ICC’s move, Trump said:

“The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.”

Trump said the ICC has “no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel,” before adding that “both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war.”

READ: Donald Trump says Palestinians will not return to Gaza after US takeover

The president said the ICC therefore presented an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to address that threat.”

The ICC was established by treaty under the Rome Statute of 1998, following efforts undertaken since 1907 to form an international body harmonizing the laws of war. Both the United States and Israel have rejected this convention, with the U.S. arguing in 1998 against the “politicization” of an ICC whose power legalizes the replacement of national sovereignty.

In the absence of a meaningful international law, there seems to be little in the way of law and order at home in Israel, either – as Gallant’s hour-long interview shows.

Gallant also says the attempts to reorder Israel’s own legal system by Netanyahu – for his own political ends – directly led to the October 7 attacks. This is an example of the “politicization” of a court at home, undertaken by an Israeli leader, which his critics including Gallant say has undermined its sovereignty in replacing governance with “constitutional crisis.”

Infighting continues over which faction in the coalition will control the judicial system.

The recent resignation of the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has sent more shockwaves through the Israeli army.

Days after Trump’s ceasefire was announced, Herzi Halevi resigned as IDF chief, saying the Israeli army had "failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel” on October 7, adding Israeli officials “must provide answers” for the failure of October 7 in a resignation letter described by the Times of Israel as a “parting shot” at the Netanyahu regime.

READ: Col. Macgregor: Gaza plan reveals Trump ‘not a free actor’ but ‘simply a puppet’ of Netanyahu

The BBC added in its January 21 report that “Opposition leader Yair Lapid praised Halevi's decision and called on Netanyahu to follow suit.”

Lapid directly blamed Netanyahu and his “catastrophic government,” saying, "Now, it is time for them to take responsibility and resign.”

Gallant shows Netanyahu is directly responsible for the deaths of more Israelis – those of some of the hostages he refused to save. Gallant explained, “The proposal that Hamas agreed to in early July was identical to the current proposal. … Unfortunately, there are fewer hostages still alive now.”

The interview given by Yoav Gallant was described by Chaim Levinson, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at Haaretz, as “an important historical document” which “left no stone unturned in everything that happened before October 7th and since.”

It is an account of how a state came to kill its own people along with another, and which is charged with creating a catastrophe at home, which is presented to the media as victory.

You can watch subtitled extracts from Yoav Gallant’s interview with Channel 12’s Yonit Levi here.

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