Israeli Forces Captain Admits to Killing Colleagues Under the Pretext of “Hannibal Protocol”

Gaza, MINA – The captain of the Israeli occupation army, Captain Bar Zonshin, admitted to implementing the “Hannibal Protocol” against his fellow Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

“The Hannibal Protocol is a rule in the Israeli army that justifies killing Israeli soldiers or citizens who are detained or held hostage by the enemy,” said Captain Bar Zonshin when speaking to Hebrew TV Channel 13, quoted by MINA on Sunday.

Captain Zonshin explained that he thought it would be better to stop the kidnapping by possibly shooting the Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas himself.

“Captain Zonshin’s confession of targeting Israeli prisoners confirms widespread information that Israeli troops targeted their civilians and IDF soldiers (captured by Hamas) on October 7,” wrote Khaberni’s review.

Zonshin detailed that he and his troops saw two cars on October 7, and there were many people in the cabins of the two vehicles.

He explained that he did not know whether the people in the car cabin were still alive or dead.

“So he decided to attack both vehicles,” the report said.

In response to a Channel 13 question asking, “Is there a possibility that you killed your own soldiers?”, the captain of the occupying army replied: “It is possible.”

Even so, he emphasized that this (shooting his own soldiers) was the right decision.

“He thought it would be better to stop the kidnapping, and thus the Israeli officer admitted that he might have killed his soldiers,” the report said.

Captain Zonchin insisted that he acted correctly.

He did not confirm whether this decision was an order from the IDF to implement the Hannibal Protocol, but he explained that there were many operational steps that had to be taken in this regard.

“Decisions must be made, including inspecting and shooting. “And if a soldier is identified (captured by the enemy), this (hannibal protocol) must be carried out,” the report added, citing the IDF officer.

The Hannibal Protocol stipulates that heavy weapons may be used when an Israeli is captured to prevent the captors from leaving the scene, even if doing so poses a danger to the captive.

Hebrew media reported that the Israeli occupation army implemented the Hannibal Protocol during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.

This sparked calls for an internal investigation in the Israeli military into the matter. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)