Michael Starr: under the directive, soldiers fire "at risk to friendlies, not at friendlies"
Michael StarrJournalist, HonestReporting
Michael Starr said Zeteo misrepresents the Hannibal Directive as an order to kill Israelis, arguing that it removes live-fire safety limits while fire stays aimed at attackers.
“The directive is a removal of safeties that come with the use of live fire, as Americans may be familiar with danger close mortar or artillery strikes. Fire is directed at hostiles, not at hostages, but the safety protocols are essentially removed. You are shooting at risk to friendlies, not at friendlies.”
Original post
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. The record also covers hostages later killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, including three who were shot in Shejaiya in December 2023 after escaping their captors.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Michael Starr's post on his X account on October 6, 2026, quoting a Zeteo post about Mehdi Hasan's video.
Before the quotation
Starr quoted Zeteo's post promoting Mehdi Hasan's October 6, 2026 video on the Hannibal Directive. Earlier in the post he writes that Zeteo "is simply lying by framing the Hannibal Directive as a command to directly kill Israelis."
After the quotation
He continues: "This is controversial, but not the distortion Hasan lays out," and says reporting puts those killed by friendly fire at "an estimated dozen or so."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Israeli 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. Starr disputes the description of the directive as a command to kill Israelis and says reported friendly-fire deaths number about a dozen, while calling the procedure controversial. That rejects how the conduct is characterized rather than arguing it was justified. The closest competing label is Minimized, but he does not play down deaths he accepts; he disputes what the procedure orders.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo
More from this case
Read the full casePolitiFact says it has not revisited related claims and its Nova video rating stands
PolitiFact
“We have not gone back and looked at related claims, and the rating stands.”Read statement
IDF points to its published October 7 investigations and declines further comment
Israel Defense Forces
“The IDF has published investigations concerning its conduct on October 7th, and beyond that, we will not comment.”Read statement
Mehdi Hasan says Israel's military should have to answer for its actions on October 7
“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
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The Dispute Index. "Michael Starr: under the directive, soldiers fire "at risk to friendlies, not at friendlies"". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/4977-michael-starr-said-zeteo-misrepresents-the-hannibal-directive