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Intercepted Communications Reveal Hamas's Orders to Target Israeli Civilians
(New York Times) Ronen Bergman - After the targeting of top Hamas commander Muhammed Sinwar in May 2025, the Israeli military sent a special unit into an underground complex he had used. There, they found a computer unconnected to a network that held an image of a six-page memo, handwritten in Arabic, by his brother, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped plot the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Dated Aug. 24, 2022, it was a directive with instructions for the assault. The memo, a copy of which was obtained by the New York Times, calls for fighters to target soldiers and civilian communities - as well as to broadcast the violent acts so as to evoke fear in Israelis and destabilize the country. Commanders then issued similar instructions on Oct. 7. The memo shows that Sinwar wanted his fighters to target civilians from the outset. It lays out orders for fighters to enter residential neighborhoods and set them on fire. The memo outlined a plan for a surprise attack on Israel, calling for bulldozers to make openings in the fence separating Gaza and Israel, and multiple waves of attackers. "Operations in which an entire neighborhood, kibbutz, or something similar will be burned must be prepared....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." In an echo to the memo, according to phone intercepts from Oct. 7, a commander from a Gaza City battalion told subordinates: "Start setting homes on fire. Burn, burn. I want the whole kibbutz to be in flames." A commander from a battalion in northern Gaza told his team: "Slit their throats. Slit them as you are trained." A Jabaliya battalion commander said: "Kill everyone on the road. Kill everyone you encounter." Commander Abu Muath said: "Guys, take a lot of hostages."