State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Hamas was responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths on October 7
Matthew MillerU.S. State Department spokesperson
Asked at a State Department briefing whether the Haaretz report on the Hannibal Directive changed the department's view of October 7, and whether Israel may have killed a majority of those who died, spokesperson Matthew Miller said "it certainly does not" and that Hamas "is responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths on October 7th."
“Boy, it certainly does not, Said. I don't think there's any question ... I don't think there's any question that it was Hamas ... I don't think it's any question it's Hamas that is responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths on October 7th.”
Original post
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Israeli forces kill Israelis under the Hannibal Directive on October 7?
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attackers struck southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel that day and about 250 were taken hostage into Gaza. In July 2024, Haaretz reported that documents and testimony show the Israeli military used the Hannibal procedure, which directs force to stop soldiers from being taken captive, at three army sites that day. The detailed findings of a UN commission of inquiry say Israeli fire likely killed at least 14 Israeli civilians in two incidents. The IDF has said a helicopter likely killed Efrat Katz of Kibbutz Nir Oz and that tank shrapnel highly likely killed one hostage outside a house in Kibbutz Be'eri, and it has defended the decisions of its commanders. Former defense minister Yoav Gallant said in February 2025 that he thinks an order to apply the procedure was given tactically in some places and not in others. The dispute is over whether, and how often, Israeli forces fired on Israeli captives that day, and how many Israelis that fire killed.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
A 24-second clip of the State Department's televised press briefing of July 11, 2024, posted on X by Eyal Yakoby and embedded in the Algemeiner's report on the exchange. It shows spokesperson Matthew Miller at the department's podium answering Said Arikat of Al Quds, whose question is heard at the start. The quotation is our transcription of the audio.
Reporting
About this source
Report on an exchange at the State Department press briefing on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in which Said Arikat, Washington bureau chief of the Palestinian daily Al Quds, cited the Haaretz report on the Hannibal Directive and asked whether it changed the department's view of what happened that day, suggesting Israel may have been responsible for killing a majority of those who died. The article embeds a 24-second video of the exchange posted on X. Our quotation of spokesperson Matthew Miller is a transcription of that video; the article's own rendering of his answer is slightly shorter.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
An investigation by Haaretz military correspondent Yaniv Kubovich, based on documents and on testimony from soldiers and from mid-level and senior officers. It reports that the Gaza Division's network carried the order "Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza" at 11:22 a.m. on October 7, 2023, that the command "Hannibal at Erez" was given at 7:18 a.m. and again at 7:41 a.m., and that, according to information confirmed by the army, the procedure was also used at the Re'im army base and the Nahal Oz outpost. Haaretz writes that it does not know whether or how many civilians and soldiers were hit as a result. The article sits behind a paywall; we read the full text in Portside's republication of July 11, 2024 (https://portside.org/2024-07-11/idf-ordered-hannibal-directive-october-7-prevent-hamas-taking-soldiers-captive).
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Four days earlier, Haaretz reported that the Israeli military used the Hannibal procedure at three army sites on October 7, 2023. At the briefing, Said Arikat of the Palestinian daily Al Quds cited that report and suggested Israel may have been responsible for killing a majority of those who died that day.
After the quotation
The Algemeiner reported the exchange the next day and noted that the IDF had said it was conducting internal investigations into October 7 and would present the results to the public.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the Israeli military's use of fire on October 7, 2023, under or in the manner of the Hannibal Directive, that put Israeli captives at risk of being killed by Israeli forces. Miller rejects the suggestion that Israel killed most of those who died on October 7 and says Hamas was responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths. He does not address whether Israeli forces applied the directive or killed some Israelis. That disputes the scale implied by the question rather than defending the conduct. The closest competing label is Minimized, but he does not acknowledge Israeli-caused deaths and then play them down, so we used Challenged the characterization.
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“A lot of the Israeli families of those killed and abducted want an independent investigation into what happened on Oct. 7, and I agree with them. Hamas clearly killed hundreds of Israelis and committed crimes and abuses, which they should answer for. The Israeli military, however, should also have to answer for its actions on that chaotic and bloody day – and the Hannibal Directive needs to be exposed, once and for all.”Read statement
Institute for Strategic Dialogue says the Hannibal Directive has been central to false claims about October 7 deaths
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“In some cases, the idea that the Israeli military deliberately killed its own citizens was linked to the ‘Hannibal Directive’ – a controversial Israeli military policy that directs the use of force (even if it poses a threat to life) to prevent the abduction of hostages. The Hannibal Directive has been central to false claims that Israeli security forces killed as many or more civilians than Hamas, and in downplaying well-documented war crimes against civilians.”Read statement
Be'eri resident Omri Shifroni says firing tank shells at a house with hostages was not a moral decision
“I think it was not the right decision, not a good decision and not moral. But I can also understand there was great chaos in Be'eri and there was a lot of pressure to end the event there. I think they didn't intend to shoot and to kill hostages, but when you shoot a tank shell on a house, you need to take into account that that is likely to happen.”Read statement
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- State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Hamas was responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths on October 7
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The Dispute Index. "State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Hamas was responsible for the overwhelming number of deaths on October 7". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4906-asked-at-a-state-department-briefing-whether-the