gitlab CI rules: dynamic $CI_COMMIT_PREV_HASH returns unexpected value

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$CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA is returning an unknown value that is NOT my previous commit hash value. This issue occurs when pushing a commit to a feature branch:

I am pushing to a feature branch, not yet an MR, and want to only trigger a rebuild job if my new commit contains a Dockerfile diff compared to my previous commit.

utilizing compare_to: $CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA dynamically does not trigger this rule:

  - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
    changes:
      paths:
        - .gitlab/Dockerfile
      compare_to: $CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA

however, by merely hardcoding my previous commit hash value, compare_to: abc123abc12 it now triggers the rule.

  - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH != $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
    changes:
      paths:
        - .gitlab/Dockerfile
      compare_to: abc123abc12

$CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA is clearly returning an unknown, incorrect value that is not my previous commit hash.