IDF points to its published October 7 investigations and declines further comment
Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit, Foreign Media Desk, in an email to Dispute Index
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit told Dispute Index that it has published investigations concerning its conduct on October 7 and would not comment beyond them. Dispute Index had asked about the Hannibal procedure, the number of Israelis killed by Israeli fire, and commentators who say Israel killed large numbers of its own citizens.
“The IDF has published investigations concerning its conduct on October 7th, and beyond that, we will not comment.”
Emailed statement
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The IDF has published investigations concerning its conduct on October 7th, and beyond that, we will not comment.
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
Emailed statement
Emailed statement from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit to Dispute Index on the Hannibal Directive and October 7
The IDF has published investigations concerning its conduct on October 7th, and beyond that, we will not comment.
About this source
Email from the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit (Foreign Media Desk) to Dispute Index in reply to a request for comment on the Hannibal Directive and October 7. The link goes to the IDF's English website because the reply is not posted there.
Before the quotation
Dispute Index asked the IDF Spokesperson's Unit whether the IDF acknowledges that the Hannibal procedure was applied in some places on October 7 and where, whether it has established or will publish how many Israelis were killed by Israeli fire that day, and how it responds to commentators who say Israel killed large numbers of its own citizens. The unit's Foreign Media Desk replied by email.
After the quotation
This case records the IDF's published inquiry findings separately, alongside its other statements.
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. The IDF refers to its published investigations and declines to answer further, so we labeled it Explicitly stayed out. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization. It loses because the reply does not dispute any account; it only declines to add to the published findings.
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The Dispute Index. "IDF points to its published October 7 investigations and declines further comment". First published: 2026-10-08. Last updated: 2026-10-08. https://disputeindex.com/events/5211-the-idf-spokesperson-s-unit-told-dispute-index