The doctrine is named after the Dahiya suburb of Beirut, where the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah has its headquarters, which the Israeli military leveled during its assault on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 that killed nearly 1,000 civilians, about a third of them children, and caused enormous damage to the country’s civilian infrastructure, including power plants, sewage treatment plants, bridges, and port facilities.
While it became official Israeli military doctrine after Israel’s 2006 attack on Lebanon, Israel’s military has used disproportionate force and targeted Palestinian, Lebanese, and other civilians since Israel was established in 1948 based on the ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians, including dozens of massacres to force them to flee for their lives.
Is the Dahiya Doctrine legal?
International law expressly prohibits the use of disproportionate force and the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, which are war crimes. As noted (this link opens in a new window) (this document-link opens in a new window) by the International Committee of the Red Cross:
“Applying the principle of proportionality is critically important for protecting civilians and critical infrastructure in situations of armed conflict… an attack against a military objective can be lawful only if the principles of proportionality and precautions are respected, meaning that the incidental civilian harm must not be excessive, and the attacker must have taken all feasible precautions to avoid this harm or at least reduce it.”
Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits attacks ‘which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.”
Where has Israel used the Dahiya Doctrine & what impact has it had?
In addition to Lebanon, Israel’s military has applied the Dahiya Doctrine during repeated assaults on Palestinians in Gaza, which has been under continuous Israeli military occupation since 1967 and an illegal Israeli siege and naval blockade since 2007. Most notably:
In December 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a devastating three-week onslaught that killed about 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including 300 children. A UN inquiry concluded it was “a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population.” Amnesty International concluded: “Israeli forces repeatedly breached the laws of war, including by carrying out direct attacks on civilians and civilian buildings and attacks targeting Palestinian militants that caused a disproportionate toll among civilians.” Shortly after the end of Cast Lead, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a cabinet meeting: “The government’s position was from the outset that if there is shooting at the residents of the south, there will be a harsh Israeli response [against Gaza] that will be disproportionate.”
In October 2023, following Hamas’ attack that killed nearly 1,200 people, including about 800 civilians, Israel launched one of the deadliest bombing campaigns in history (this link opens in a new window) and a ground invasion of Gaza. As of July 31, 2024, the Israeli military killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians, including some 15,000 children; systematically attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure; weaponized starvation (this link opens in a new window) against the entire population; ethnically cleansed nearly 2 million people from their homes; almost completely destroyed Gaza’s healthcare system; and reduced much of Gaza to rubble, making it virtually uninhabitable. Human rights groups harshly condemned Israel’s actions, with Amnesty International noting: “Deliberately targeting civilians, carrying out disproportionate attacks, and indiscriminate attacks which kill or injure civilians are war crimes. Israel has a horrific track record of committing war crimes with impunity in previous wars on Gaza.” In a submission to the Biden administration, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam noted that they “have observed or documented that the Israeli authorities have carried out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in violation of international humanitarian law…, imposed collective punishments on the civilian population, deprived the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival, and used starvation of civilians as a weapon of war. These are all grave violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international humanitarian law.” In January 2024, the International Court of Justice and a US federal court (this link opens in a new window) issued separate rulings concluding that Israel may be guilty of genocide in Gaza. In May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested warrants for the arrests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare,” “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,” and “extermination and/or murder.”
Go deeper
Fact Sheet: 288 Days of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza: By the Numbers
Hoewel de westerse mainstream pers, inclusief Het Parool, er vanuit blijft gaan dat Hamas "zeker 1200" Israelische burgers had vermoord, blijkt in werkelijkheid dit aantal volstrekt onjuist, deels omdat velen van hen militairen waren. Bovendien is alom bekend dat 'This was a mass Hannibal.' In July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed commanders in the IDF gave the order to fire on troops who had been captured by Hamas at three separate locations, explicitly referencing the Hannibal Directive.
Panicked, operating without their normal command structure and unable to coordinate with ground forces, they fired on vehicles returning to Gaza, knowing they were likely carrying hostages.
"This was a mass Hannibal. It was tons and tons of openings in the fence, and thousands of people in every type of vehicle, some with hostages and some without," Colonel Erez said.
Air force pilots described to Yedioth Ahronot newspaper the firing of "tremendous" amounts of ammunition on October 7 at people attempting to cross the border between Gaza and Israel.
"The frequency of fire at the thousands of terrorists was enormous at the start, and only at a certain point did the pilots begin to slow their attacks and carefully choose the targets."
An Israeli Apache helicopter loaded with missiles flies through clear blue sky.
Israel reportedly enacted the Hannibal Directive at midday on October 7. (Reuters: Ammar Awad)
Tank officers have also confirmed they applied their own interpretation of the directive when firing on vehicles returning to Gaza, potentially with Israelis on board.
"My gut feeling told me that they [soldiers from another tank] could be on them," tank captain Bar Zonshein told Israel's Channel 13.
Captain Zonshein is asked: "So you might be killing them with that action? They are your soldiers."
"Right," he replied, "but I decided that this is the right decision, that it's better to stop the kidnapping, that they won't be taken."
Investigative journalist Ronen Bergman wrote for Yedioth Ahronot newspaper that the military had enacted the Hannibal Directive at midday on October 7.
"The IDF instructed all its fighting units in practice to follow the 'Hannibal Directive,' although without clearly mentioning this explicit name," he said.
"It is not clear at this point how many of the abductees were killed due to the activation of this [Hannibal] order on October 7," he wrote.
The original Hannibal Directive, while confidential, reportedly recommends small arms and sniper fire towards enemies holding hostages — and not to use bombs, missiles or tank shells.
In 2015, Israel's attorney-general said it specifically prohibited killing a hostage.
It wasn't just soldiers under fire on October 7, though...
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the directive was named at random by a computer program, but Hannibal was the famous Carthaginian general who took poison rather than be captured by the Romans.
The doctrine, written in 1986 in response to the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, gave permission for Israeli forces to fire on enemies holding their comrades hostage — even at risk to those hostages.
Its authors said the directive did not allow captives to be killed, but critics say that over time an interpretation spread through the military that it was better to kill comrades than to allow their capture.
"They interpreted it as if they are [meant] to intentionally, deliberately kill the soldier in order to foil the attempted abduction, and that was wrong," Israeli philosopher Asa Kasher, who wrote the IDF code of ethics, told the ABC.
"That is legally wrong and morally wrong and ethically wrong, it's wrong on all accounts."
In 2011, Hamas successfully used an Israeli hostage to secure a major prisoner exchange, swapping one Israeli soldier, tank gunner Gilad Shalit, for more than 1,000 prisoners...
After October 7, there were some testimonies from Israeli civilians and military personnel that Israeli forces responding to the Hamas attack killed their own citizens.
Nevertheless, many Israelis and supporters of Israel condemned anyone who suggested it had occurred, before more testimonies and Israeli media reports confirmed it was true.
The IDF has not confirmed or denied a version of the Hannibal directive was applied on October 7, only saying it is one of many things from that day under investigation.
In response to questions from the ABC, the Israeli military provided a statement saying: "The IDF is currently focused on eliminating the threat from the terrorist organisation Hamas."
"Questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage."
In July, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed commanders in the IDF gave the order to fire on troops who had been captured by Hamas at three separate locations, explicitly referencing the Hannibal Directive.
One former Israeli officer, Air Force Colonel Nof Erez, told a Haaretz podcast the directive was not specifically ordered but was "apparently applied" by responding aircrews.
Panicked, operating without their normal command structure and unable to coordinate with ground forces, they fired on vehicles returning to Gaza, knowing they were likely carrying hostages.
"This was a mass Hannibal. It was tons and tons of openings in the fence, and thousands of people in every type of vehicle, some with hostages and some without," Colonel Erez said.
Air force pilots described to Yedioth Ahronot newspaper the firing of "tremendous" amounts of ammunition on October 7 at people attempting to cross the border between Gaza and Israel.
"Twenty-eight fighter helicopters shot over the course of the day all of the ammunition in their bellies, in renewed runs to rearm. We are talking about hundreds of 30-millimetre cannon mortars and Hellfire missiles," reporter Yoav Zeitoun said.
"The frequency of fire at the thousands of terrorists was enormous at the start, and only at a certain point did the pilots begin to slow their attacks and carefully choose the targets."
Captain Zonshein is asked: "So you might be killing them with that action? They are your soldiers."
"Right," he replied, "but I decided that this is the right decision, that it's better to stop the kidnapping, that they won't be taken."
Investigative journalist Ronen Bergman wrote for Yedioth Ahronot newspaper that the military had enacted the Hannibal Directive at midday on October 7.
"The IDF instructed all its fighting units in practice to follow the 'Hannibal Directive', although without clearly mentioning this explicit name," he said...
Bergman's investigation found 70 vehicles were destroyed by Israeli aircraft and tanks to prevent them being driven into Gaza, killing everyone inside.
"It is not clear at this point how many of the abductees were killed due to the activation of this [Hannibal] order on October 7," he wrote.
The original Hannibal Directive, while confidential, reportedlyrecommends small arms and sniper fire towards enemies holding hostages — and not to use bombs, missiles or tank shells.
In 2015, Israel's attorney-general said it specifically prohibited killing a hostage.
It wasn't just soldiers under fire on October 7, though.
Hoewel mijn Parool-collega's, inclusief de free-lance journalist Justus Boesschen Hospers, die Het Parool-artikel van afgelopen zaterdag schreef, en die een Master, Journalistiek en Media van de Universiteit van Amsterdam kreeg, deze feiten kennen, verzwegen dit alles. Zo ontstaat een journalistieke werkelijkheid gebaseerd op virtual reality. Volgende keer meer hierover.
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