I remember reading somewhere that Hannibal escaped to areas where Phoenician was widely spoken so that he could get around more easily. I have since not been able to find where I read it, regrettably. But is this true? Was Hannibal actually Phoenician by blood?
Is there some particular reason you believe that Hannibal was not a Phoenician? Carthage was a Tyrian colony (and took in Tyrian refugees when their mother city was sacked by Alexander in 332) settled by Tyrians. Carthage's name is Phoenician, it means "new city," and the Punic language, still attested in late antiquity, was a form of Phoenician
There are a few reasons why Hannibal went the way he did. Carthage was at it's beginning a Phoenician colony, and as such enjoyed the kinsmanship that comes with having Phoenician origins. There are multiple recorded examples of Phoenician seamen refusing to attack cities that were once Phoenician colonies (The Persians against Carthage, for example). Culturally, Carthage would have been similar enough to Tyre at that time that Hannibal could get by. Probably the most important reason, however, that Hannibal traveled east is that direction was the only way to go. South is nothing but inhospitable desert, and west and north were Roman territory. Going east was his only option, and it certainly helped that it was culturally similar. The ruler on the east side of the Mediterranean , Antiochus the Great, was secretly preparing for war against the Romans, and so here he saw another opportunity for revenge (It ended up not working out for him). So, in summation, I believe Hannibal did not go to Syria simply because it was Phoenician, but went due to a combination of factors. I hope I answered your question.
The higher class members of Carthagian society/nobility were of middle eastern origins, so it makes sense Hannibal would have kept links with the Tyrian city state. It was started as a Tyrian colony by Tyrian colonists (among the other colonies accross the med. built by Phoenician city states) after all.