In the quote presented from the interview it appears that the defense official is referring to situations where neutralizing the attackers would involve harming Israeli citizens and/or soldiers as collateral harm. The idea is that if you don't apply that directive then the attackers will be able to continue their assault and kill even more of your people.

This is different than the hypotheses that some people have presented that the October 7 Hamas attack was intentionally created or intentionally allowed by people within the Israeli government as a way to gain support for an Israeli assault on Hamas and invasion of Gaza. This news item provides no evidence that would support those "inside job" theories.

: "The end justifies the means"
: Said about a situation in which the final goal is so important
: that any way of achieving it is acceptable

: “You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs”
: According to The Yale Book of Quotations, this oft-repeated
: quote was supposedly made by Robert Louis Stevenson in
: 1897, while others attribute authorship or its widespread
: use to either Lenin or Stalin.

: Ex-Israeli war chief confirms issuing Hannibal Directive to
: kill own civilians, soldiers on 7 Oct
: Israeli forces used attack helicopters, drones, and tanks to
: kill their own civilians and soldiers while blaming the
: deaths on Hamas
: News Desk
: TheCradle.co
: FEB 7, 2025

: [snip]

: Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has acknowledged
: ordering the army to use the Hannibal Directive to kill
: Israeli civilians and soldiers during the Hamas attack on 7
: October 2023.

: During an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on 7 February,
: Gallant admitted to ordering the controversial protocol
: that involves killing captives along with their captors.

: When asked whether an order was given to implement the
: Hannibal Directive, Gallant responded: “I think that,
: tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other
: places, it was not given, and that is a problem.”

: https://x.com/BrunellaCapitan/status/1887654384806379762

: Yoav Gallant admits the use of ' #Hannibaldirective '
: "I think tactically in some places it was, in other
: places it was not, and that is a problem," Former
: Israeli Defense Minister told Channel 12. 💢The
: Hannibal Directive allows the killing of Israeli soldiers
: and the shelling of… pic.twitter.com/4zaFyw6dcC —
: Brunella C. (@BrunellaCapitan) February 7, 2025