In the 'Hannibal Procedure', you [hit] all the targets that you’ve prepared in advance, all optional targets. Optional targets, that can mean shafts [Hamas militants] could come out of, that can mean buildings in which they might be hiding.

Can you describe what happened there? Say a certain force goes into a building to blow it up. I consider all the possible scenarios of what happens if [an IDF soldier] is kidnapped. Where there are shafts they could come out of, where there are buildings they can hide in. I brought them a list of targets for preliminary approval, and they told me: “That’s not enough targets, bring it back [with more].” Now, I look at the aerial footage, and I don’t know – I mean, I don’t know if there are civilians in there, I don’t know anything – I just analyze it. Now, while I was doing that I felt fine about it. I mean, I was getting all the support, I felt like everything was fine. I’m allowed to. I’m allowed to designate a seven-story building as a target, I’m allowed to say now I’m ordering a ‘debilitating strike’ along this 600-meter stretch, which is a central route where there’s a power station. Because it’s a key route where if they manage to kidnap a soldier, he won’t be coming back. Hannibal is like, everything’s allowed.