'Just fire': Soldier's testimony raises questions whether IDF shot Israelis during Hamas blitz

A soldier's testimony has raised questions about whether the Israeli army fired on its own civilians under the "Hannibal Protocol" during the October 7 surprise blitz by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Jewish settlements near the fence with besieged Gaza.

In a report broadcast on Sunday by Israel’s Channel 12 News, a second lieutenant from an Israeli tank unit identified as Michal spoke about her experience in pursuing Palestinian fighters on October 7.

"We arrived at the entrance of the [Hulit] compound, and the gate was closed. A soldier came to me, somewhat frightened, saying, 'Terrorists have entered now.' We entered the compound, broke the gate with the tank, and followed the directions pointed out by the soldier," she said.

"Then the soldier told me, 'Fire over there. The terrorists are there.' I asked him, 'Are there any civilians [Israelis] there?' His response was, 'I don't know, just fire.'"

"I decided not to shell the target [with a tank shell] because it was an Israeli settlement, but I fired using a machine gun at the entrance of a house," she said.

The report by Channel 12 came as a pilot with the Israeli armed forces said the military implemented the Hannibal Protocol during Hamas' unprecedented operation on Israeli settlements and military zones.

In an interview with Israel's Haaretz daily, Lieutenant Colonel Nof Erez drew attention to the possibility that Israeli forces responding to Hamas fighters might have implemented the directive.

Another Haaretz report has revealed that an Israeli military helicopter fired at "Palestinian gunmen" and Israelis attending a music festival near Kibbutz Be'eri in besieged Gaza periphery on October 7.

Israeli disinformation

Hamas says its October 7 operation was carried out in response to "aggression against the Holy Al Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian prisoners" by Israel troops and illegal settlers in occupied West Bank.

Israel has since then launched a heavy bombardment and land invasion of the Palestinian enclave, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, wounding thousands and displacing more than one million residents of Gaza.

Israel has also made some conflicting and controversial statements since the start of its war on besieged Gaza.

The initial Israeli death toll was at 1,400, but was later revised down to 1,200.

On November 15, the IDF released a video of Al Shifa Hospital, saying an AK-47 was found behind the MRI machine.

When the BBC and FOX News were allowed inside to report, they saw two AK-47 rifles, not one.

CNN said then it was unclear where the second AK-47 came from, suggesting the IDF could have rearranged the weapons it claimed it had found.

Türkiye says it has revealed over 100 lies [ about the war] spread by Israel through its Center for Combating Disinformation.