The American newspaper “The New York Times” documented, in an investigative report, the killing of Israeli civilians in a house that an Israeli military commander ordered to be bombed with a tank, on October 7, in Kibbutz Be’eri on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip.

The newspaper said in a lengthy report that took 10 weeks to prepare, and included an interview with 80 Israelis from the kibbutz and an analysis of dozens of video clips: “With a state of military chaos, General Barak Hiram was suddenly appointed responsible for the Israeli efforts to reclaim Be’eri and the surrounding area.”

It added: “General Hiram was considered a rising star in the army, as he lost one of his eyes during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006. He was scheduled to take command of the army’s Gaza Division next year (2024), and his division was operating in northern Israel and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.” .

It added, “He arrived in Be’ri at around four in the afternoon, to find a disorganized mixture of Israeli units fighting in different parts of the town.”

According to the report, surveillance camera footage showed the soldiers reclaiming the town’s dining hall, spreading across the parking lot, and evacuating wounded residents through the same side gate that the attackers had used hours earlier to penetrate the town.

It added: “A complex situation was developing in Bessie Cohen’s house, where the 14 hostages were being held. To slow the soldiers’ advance, the kidnappers forced nearly half of the hostages, including the Dagan family, into the backyard of Ms. Cohen’s house, and placed the hostages between the troops and the house.” 

It continued: “Expecting an exchange of gunfire, the Dagan family lay down next to the wall of the house, and Mrs. Dagan was hugging her husband from behind.”

It noted, “At approximately four o’clock in the evening, the police SWAT team and the gunmen began exchanging fire, while the hostages in the backyard were trapped in the middle.”

It said: “A Palestinian fighter hid in the kitchen and began to take off his clothes (the Israeli army asks militants to take off their clothes to ensure that there are no weapons), and he grabbed Mrs. Porat while he was almost naked, and took her out of the house towards the SWAT team, which prompted the officers to stop shooting.” The Hamas fighter was surrendering, and Mrs. Borat was his human shield.”

It noted, “During another period of calm, Ms. Dagan opened her eyes to see at least two hostages and one of the kidnappers killed in the shooting, and she said it was not clear who killed them.”

It added: “As dusk approached, the Israeli Special Forces Commander and General Hiram began to argue, and the Special Forces Commander thought that more kidnappers might surrender, while the General wanted to resolve the situation at night.”

The newspaper continued: “Minutes later, the militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade, according to the general and other witnesses who spoke to the New York Times.”

The newspaper noted that “General Hiram remembers saying to the tank commander: ‘The negotiations have ended, storm (the house) even if it was at the cost of civilian casualties, and the tank fired two light shells towards the house.’”

It added: “A fragment of the second shell hit Mr. Dagan in the neck, cutting an artery and killing him, according to what his wife said.”

The newspaper continued: “The kidnappers were also killed during the clash, and only two of the 14 hostages survived, namely Mrs. Dagan and Mrs. Porat.”

In a related context, a former leader of the Israeli opposition, on Sunday, December 24, 2023, called for an investigation into the Israeli occupation army’s implementation of the “Hannibal” Protocol in Israeli towns surrounding the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023. The “Hannibal” Protocol requires the use of weapons Heavy duty in the event of an Israeli being captured, even if this poses a danger to him, to prevent the captors from leaving the site of the event, given that a dead Israeli is better than a captured Israeli.

Controversy arose over the Israeli army's implementation of this protocol, after information about the killing of Israelis by bullets from its soldiers during a Hamas attack on towns and military bases in the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The former leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Shelly Yachimovich, said in a tweet on the “X” platform: “There is a violent campaign to prevent any investigation or talk about the hell incident, in which Brigadier General Hiram ordered the firing of a tank and storming the house in (the) Bari area, and killing 12 hostages, including children, were deliberately taken.”

She considered that what happened was an implementation of the “Hannibal Protocol,” and commented sarcastically: “Hannibal is turning over in his grave.” She added: "The reason? Hiram, he is an Israeli hero. Israel's heroes protect the children of Israel and do not kill them. Who am I to judge? Who is he to kill?"

Israel did not officially recognize the application of the Hannibal Protocol in the Israeli towns surrounding the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli media, the “Hannibal Protocol” is a military directive applied by the Israeli army and relates to how field units respond when a soldier is captured by hostile forces.

According to the Israeli media, the protocol was drafted in 1986, and was canceled in 2016 by a decision of the then Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisenkot, who currently holds the position of minister in the Military Ministerial Council.

Source: Sama News