In May 2025, following the assassination of a prominent Hamas commander, Muhammed Sinwar, Israeli military forces infiltrated an underground compound he once utilized. Within this secluded hideout, they discovered a computer—disconnected from any network, making it a formidable challenge for Israeli intelligence to access. This machine contained a digital image of a six-page, handwritten memo in Arabic.
Israeli intelligence officials are convinced this pivotal document was penned by Yahya Sinwar, Muhammed’s brother and the influential leader of Hamas in Gaza. This memo, dated August 24, 2022, is believed to be a direct order from Sinwar outlining detailed instructions for the infamous October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, according to seven Israeli officials.
A copy of this crucial memo, obtained by The New York Times, explicitly commanded fighters to target both soldiers and civilian communities. Furthermore, it stressed the importance of broadcasting these violent acts to instill fear in Israelis and destabilize the nation. On the day of the attack, commanders reiterated these instructions, as revealed by hours of previously undisclosed communications between senior and subordinate militants, intercepted by Israel and shared with The Times.
Israeli officials assert that this memo unequivocally demonstrates Sinwar’s intent for his fighters to target civilians from the very beginning, directly refuting Hamas’s public denials.
While the memo did not explicitly detail plans for kidnapping or killing civilians, it laid out chilling orders for fighters to infiltrate residential areas and ignite homes using ‘gasoline or diesel from a tanker.’
‘Two or three operations, in which an entire neighborhood, kibbutz, or something similar will be burned, must be prepared,’ the memo ominously stated.
Echoing these directives, intercepted communications capture a commander from a Gaza City battalion, identified as Abu Muhammed, ordering subordinates just before 10 a.m. on October 7: ‘Start setting homes on fire.’ He continued, ‘Burn, burn. I want the whole kibbutz to be in flames.’ Around the same time, another commander, Abu al-Abed, operating in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya, commanded, ‘Set fire to anything.’
This recently unearthed memo and the intercepted communications significantly expand our understanding of Hamas’s intricate planning and execution of the Oct. 7 attack. Much of what was previously known stemmed from other documents and recordings recovered by Israel during the subsequent conflict. While Israel and Hamas have since agreed to a cease-fire, the militant group’s future in Gaza remains uncertain.
Sima Ankona, a former document examination expert with the Israeli police, confirmed that the handwriting in the memo matches other known examples from Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. At the request of The Times, Ms. Ankona meticulously compared the document with samples gathered by Israeli authorities, including those captured by the military in Gaza, a note Sinwar wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018, and his signature on a 1989 statement to Israeli police. (He was later convicted that year for the killing of four Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel.) The Times independently translated the memo, noting that several words and phrases within it are consistent with other Hamas documents previously reviewed.
Izzat al-Rishq, the Qatar-based director of Hamas’s media office, did not respond to detailed inquiries regarding the memo’s authenticity or whether Hamas leadership outside Gaza was aware of these explicit orders given to militants on Oct. 7.
Conversely, Ibrahim Madhoun, a Palestinian analyst with close ties to Hamas, expressed skepticism regarding the memo’s authenticity. He contended that many actions described, such as the systematic burning of entire neighborhoods, did not extensively occur during the Oct. 7 assault (though many homes were indeed set ablaze during the attacks). Madhoun further argued that the memo’s content does not align with the established culture of Hamas’s military wing.
These crucial intercepts were gathered on the day of the attack by Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s signals intelligence unit, according to three Israeli security officials who shared them with The Times. The Times extensively reviewed and translated hours of these recordings, which captured Arabic communications between commanders and eight distinct groups of fighters.
Several Israeli officials stated that both the memo and the intercepts have been meticulously analyzed by Israel to deepen their understanding of Hamas’s attack. The Gazit Institute, a think tank associated with the Israeli military intelligence directorate, compiled a confidential report on these materials, concluding that ‘the Hamas leadership planned and carried out an attack that featured acts of ‘extraordinary brutality.” The report, reviewed by The Times, added that ‘its aim was to cause great turmoil in the country and the military.’
The devastating security failures exposed by the Oct. 7 attack, including Israel’s inability to uncover such documents beforehand and its apparent disregard for other warnings, have triggered a comprehensive re-evaluation within the Israeli intelligence community. The assault, marking the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, profoundly shattered Israel’s perception of security.
The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of these discussions. During the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas and its allies brutally killed approximately 1,200 people and abducted around 250 others into Gaza. In retaliation, Israel unleashed its full military might, initiating a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Gaza, displaced most of its population, and reduced entire cities to rubble.
Globally, Israel has faced strong condemnation for its conduct in the war, alongside accusations of war crimes from various human rights organizations. A United Nations commission has even accused Israel of committing genocide, charges vehemently denied by the Israeli government.
In May 2024, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, brought accusations against Yahya Sinwar and two other senior Hamas officials, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including ‘extermination’ and ‘murder.’ Mr. Khan stated that these crimes were committed as part of ‘a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups’ when he publicly announced the charges.
Under the precepts of international law, both armies and armed groups are strictly forbidden from deliberately targeting civilians or inflicting disproportionate harm to achieve military objectives. The killing and hostage-taking of individuals uninvolved in hostilities are considered grave violations of the Geneva Conventions.
The handwritten memo and the intercepted communications offer an even more granular and immediate insight into Hamas’s strategic thinking and their actions as they unfolded.
The memo detailed a surprise attack strategy on Israel, involving bulldozers to breach the border fence separating Gaza and Israel, followed by multiple waves of attackers. It expressed a desire for these actions to deliver a high ‘shock value,’ explicitly stating, ‘Stomp on the heads of soldiers.’
The memo further specified tactics such as ‘opening fire on soldiers at point-blank range, slaughtering some of them with knives, blowing up tanks.’ Intercepted communications from the day of the attack corroborate these instructions. A commander from a northern Gaza battalion reportedly told his team, ‘Slit their throats. Slit them as you are trained.’ According to Israeli authorities, approximately 300 soldiers were killed in the Oct. 7 attack.
The intercepts vividly captured Hamas combatants making broad calls for violence and the taking of captives. When a militant inquired if he should engage people on the road, Abu Muath, a commander from a Jabaliya battalion, unequivocally replied, ‘Kill everyone on the road. Kill everyone you encounter.’
One combatant was heard stating, ‘Now we are at the beginning of the kibbutz. We have wiped out those in it. There are settlers whom we killed.’ Abu Muath then urged his fighters: ‘Guys, take a lot of hostages. Take a lot of hostages.’
According to the memo, Hamas’s actions were intended for broadcast to the Arab world, aiming to galvanize individuals outside Gaza to join the fight. The plan envisioned Palestinians in the West Bank, Arabs within Israel, and ‘our nation’ (a reference potentially encompassing Arabs, Muslims, or both) ‘responding positively to calls for them to join the revolution.’ The memo stressed, ‘It needs to be affirmed to the unit commanders to undertake these actions intentionally, film them and broadcast images of them as fast as possible.’
Minutes from Hamas’s clandestine meetings leading up to the Oct. 7 attack further reveal Yahya Sinwar’s resolve to enlist Hamas’s allies, Iran and Hezbollah, either into the initial assault or a broader confrontation with Israel. On Oct. 7, Hamas commanders were also heard urging combatants to film their actions to inspire others to join the fight. Abu al-Baraa, a Gaza City commander, instructed operatives near Kibbutz Sa’ad: ‘Document the scenes of horror, now, and broadcast them on TV channels to the whole world. Slaughter them. End the children of Israel.’ Abu Muath added, ‘It is essential that you bring the drone in so it films for the entire Islamic world.’
Hamas officials also issued public statements on the day of the attack, openly encouraging people outside Gaza to participate. However, these calls ultimately failed to ignite a widespread popular uprising. Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas’s political office, stated in a recorded message broadcast on Al Jazeera on Oct. 7: ‘The Israeli military won’t be able to attend to confrontations on other fronts. After today, no one can hold back his rifle, bullet, pistol, knife, car, or Molotov cocktail.’ Tragically, Israel assassinated Mr. al-Arouri in January 2024.
