The procedure dates back to 1986, when the IDF faced hard events in Lebanon. Major General Yossi Peled headed the Northern Command back then. His surname means “steel,” and matches his reputation. His Operations Officer was Colonel Gabi Ashkenazi, who later became a controversial Chief of Staff after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. The two solved their most pressing problem in Lebanon with what still keeps its original codename, the Hannibal Procedure.

It can be summarized in a sentence: The fall of IDF soldiers captive must be avoided at all costs.