In a statement to the newspaper "Haaretz" on Tuesday, Colonel Nov Erez pointed to the possibility that the Israeli army, which intervened to address the Hamas attack, implemented the Hannibal Protocol, which it uses to prevent the capture of its soldiers, even if it results in their deaths. Erez stated, "It is unknown whether warplanes and drones fired upon the hostages when dealing with the Hamas attack." He added, "It seems that the Hannibal Protocol was executed at some point that day, because when a hostage situation is discovered, it necessitates Hannibal, noting that the Hannibal maneuvers we conducted over the past 20 years were limited to a single vehicle carrying hostages, while what we saw in 'Al-Aqsa Flood' constitutes a large-scale Hannibal." According to reports circulated by Israeli media, Colonel Erez was dismissed on October 31st after criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli army announced that Erez was removed after expressing his views on political issues during his active service. A report from "Haaretz" on Saturday showed that an Israeli military helicopter fired at Israelis participating in an event held near Kibbutz Re'im on the Gaza border.