Matthew Miller
Role at the time: U.S. State Department spokesperson
Statement summary
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.”
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.
Why we used 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.