Chapter 1: The Official Story and the First Cracks
On the morning of October 7, 2023, the world awoke to images of chaos along Israel’s Gaza border. Hamas fighters had breached the fence in multiple locations, taking hostages and killing civilians. By day’s end, Israel reported 1,139 deaths: 695 Israeli civilians, 373 security forces personnel, and 71 foreign nationals. For months, every casualty was laid at Hamas’s feet. The narrative was simple, brutal, and absolute.
But Israeli military investigations, leaked combat logs, and survivor testimonies began to peel back the layers.
The Hannibal Directive, an obscure protocol designed to prevent hostage taking at any cost, even the death of the hostage, had been activated across the battlefield.
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on February 28, 2025, that the directive was “authorized tactically in various places” and directly caused dozens of Israeli deaths.
Independent analyses of burnt vehicles, shell craters, and eyewitness accounts push the friendly fire toll into the hundreds.
No forensic breakdown has been released because many bodies were incinerated beyond recognition by tank shells, helicopter missiles, and airstrikes.
Ballistic evidence and survivor statements allow a conservative reconstruction:
Hamas inflicted approximately 300 to 500 deaths (sites with no IDF fire, small arms wounds, or direct militant contact).
IDF inflicted deaths under Hannibal: Minimum 200 to 300 confirmed; likely much higher.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, in its June 10, 2024 report, classified these applications of the Hannibal Directive as potential war crimes.
Chapter 2: The 1.8 Billion Subsidy
Long before the breach, Benjamin Netanyahu pursued a deliberate strategy to keep Hamas armed and the Palestinian factions divided.
Between 2018 and 2023, Israel personally approved Qatar’s transfer of more than 1.8 billion to Gaza, 30 million per month delivered in cash-filled suitcases that passed through Israeli checkpoints.
Hamas diverted substantial sums to its military wing, purchasing rockets and building tunnels.
Netanyahu explained the policy to Likud party members in 2019: “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas.” The goal was transparent: a weakened Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and a radicalized Gaza would make a unified Palestinian state impossible.
Chapter 3: The Stand Down
Israel’s Gaza border is among the most heavily monitored frontiers on Earth.
AI watchtowers, motion sensors, remote-controlled machine guns, and constant drone patrols can detect a single animal crossing the fence.
6:29 AM: First electronic breach alarms.
8:00 to 9:00 AM: Apache helicopters airborne.
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM: First significant ground reinforcements arrive.
Four to eight hours of near total inaction followed the initial alerts. Commanders later described a state of denial, but no technical failure has been documented.
Chapter 4: Hannibal in the Field
Kibbutz Be’eri – The House That Burned
At approximately 5:00 PM, survivor Yasmin Porat sheltered inside a house with 13 Israeli hostages, including 3 year old Liel Hetzroni. An IDF tank positioned outside fired two 120mm shells point blank into the building.
Twelve Israelis died instantly; their bodies were charred beyond recognition. Porat, the sole survivor of the group, told Haaretz on October 15, 2023: “The tank shot directly into the house. We were burnt alive.”
An internal IDF investigation released July 11, 2024, confirmed the tank fire and reprimanded the commander, but no criminal charges were filed.
Nova Music Festival – Missiles from the Sky
The Supernova festival became a killing ground for 364 people. Hamas gunmen struck first, but Israeli Apache helicopters arrived between 8:00 and 9:00 AM and opened fire with 30mm cannons and Hellfire missiles.
A police investigation reported in Haaretz on November 18, 2023, concluded that one helicopter alone fired into the crowd, killing and wounding Israelis while attempting to engage militants. Drone footage later showed hundreds of vehicles incinerated by missile strikes, not RPGs.
Survivor testimonies are consistent:
Witness G.: “Helicopters flew low over the fields, firing into running people. Cars exploded beside us.”
Witness H.: “We raised our hands; they kept shooting.”
Combat logs from the air force, published by Channel 12 on November 18, 2023, record pilots receiving orders to hose down anything moving.
The Road to Gaza – Airstrikes on Captive Convoys
Gaza Division combat logs, leaked to Haaretz on July 7, 2024, document multiple tank and airstrikes on vehicles known to contain Israeli hostages. Radio transcripts include the exchange: “Confirmed captives inside, engage anyway.”
Chapter 5: The Hostage Paradox
When Hamas released over 100 Israeli hostages in November 2023, they emerged well fed, medically treated, and unharmed. Video statements recorded gratitude: “They gave us food every day and protected us from falling debris.”
Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons in 2025 exchanges presented a stark contrast: emaciated frames, broken limbs, and systematic torture marks, as documented by the Guardian in October 2025.
Chapter 6: Sde Teiman – Institutional Cruelty
In July 2024, leaked video footage from Sde Teiman detention center showed Israeli soldiers gang raping a chained Palestinian prisoner. A military court attempted to prohibit sexual assault as policy. Hundreds of reservists and several Knesset members responded by storming the base, demanding the right to continue such acts.
Chapter 7: Gaza’s Ledger of Loss
As of November 1, 2025, the Gaza Health Ministry reports:
68,858 confirmed dead.
Over 20,000 children.
170,664 wounded.
More than 10,000 bodies still beneath rubble, unreachable due to destroyed rescue equipment.
Famine, untreated disease, and collapsed hospitals push the indirect death toll past 100,000.
Chapter 8: The Real Estate Blueprint
In March 2024, Jared Kushner described Gaza’s coastline as “very valuable waterfront property” and suggested clearing the population to “focus on building up livelihoods.” In October 2025, Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff unveiled a 50 billion master plan for luxury resorts and infrastructure, with discussions dating to 2021. Two years before October 7th.
Epilogue: A Call for Accountability
The evidence is no longer scattered; it is systematic. Cut military aid. Enforce ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Support global boycott, divestment, and sanctions. Verify every claim with the primary sources listed below.
Primary Sources
1. Haaretz – October 15, 2023; November 18, 2023; July 7, 2024; July 11, 2024
2. Times of Israel – February 28, 2025
3. UN OHCHR – June 10, 2024
4. Gaza Health Ministry – November 1, 2025
5. Channel 12 Israel – November 18, 2023
6. Guardian – October 2025 prisoner releases
