Documents seized in the Gaza Strip, some of which were published in the Israeli and international media, revealed a partial picture of Hamas’s goals and intentions prior to and during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The files also revealed the plans of Hamas’s decision-makers and their expectations from Iran and its proxies.

The Hamas documents seized in the Gaza Strip revealed that the terrorist organization’s goal was to widen the divisions within Israeli society before and during their attack. Since October 7, 2023, various media outlets in the United States, England, and Israel have received dozens of documents from the IDF that were seized in the Gaza Strip. Those outlets published partial translations of those documents; in most cases, the original documents were never presented to the public. The IDF itself has not published copies of these documents, even though many months have passed since their contents were reported in the media.

Some of those publications were published on the “Uvda” investigative Israeli TV show and Sky News, as well as a translation of a section of a document published by an IDF spokesman. We present here new information from those parts that have not yet been translated or published by television networks. The main points are:

  1. Hamas’s directive to authorize “relevant parties to act to deepen internal contradictions” in Israel, primarily between the Jewish population and non-Jewish minorities.
  2. Hamas concluded from the statements of IDF leaders that Israel had a deep fear of an Israeli ground military operation in Gaza, that Israel was deterred by Hamas’ defense plan based on tunnels, and that consequently, Hamas prepared its offensive plan against Israel.
  3. On January 7, 2024, The Sunday Times published the contents of documents seized by the IDF in the Gaza Strip, which were prepared for Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. One suggestion was to torch pictures of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Israel to sabotage Israel’s relations with Turkey. The contents of the documents indicate that they were written in the summer of 2023, likely before Turkey’s President Tayyip Recep Erdogan’s meeting at the UN with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 20, 2023.Three pages of these documents were aired in a report on Sky News in Arabic on January 7, 2023, and their translation follows:

    Page 1 – Boosting the Power of the Attack

    [Topics] Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas

    Politburo Secretariat

    Gaza region

    Politburo meeting minutes

    Conclusions on the political situation

    The National Arena

    • [We urge] Caution against those who are involved in the [Palestinian] Authority’s and security apparatus’s campaign in [stoking] internal conflicts, and complete avoidance of any participation at the level of leaders or [representatives of our] organizations in this.
    • Increase the intensity of [Hamas’s] unofficial attack on the [Palestinian] Authority and security coordination [with Israel] since the continuation of [the existing situation] helps them, causing a rift between them and the Fatah [movement] and its national militant wing.
    • An attack based on the Islamic faith through dawah to formulate a comprehensive plan to combat the fascist right-wing government and its policies in Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa [Mosque], prisons, etc. [majority vote] [13 in favor, 5 against].
    • Forming a very broad national unity around the overall plan to combat the fascist right-wing government and continuing the policy of developing the leadership of national action.
    • Striving to curb any differences of opinion with the Islamic Jihad, avoiding any friction or clashes with the [Islamic] Jihad, and being diligent in containing and absorbing them. The Resistance’s gain is also the [Islamic] Jihad’s.

    Page 2 – Authorize the relevant parties to act to deepen internal contradictions

    • Diligent persistence to export the fundamental principles [regarding] the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, the resistance, the struggle against the settlement, the prisoners, etc.
    • Continued support for the resistance in the [West] Bank by all means, by participating in developing its capabilities and as soon as possible in Jenin, by providing technical support and advice to the resistance, and by being ready to actively participate in a situation where the resistance is in existential danger.
    • The highest level of security caution and vigilance.
    • The highest level of military readiness and preparedness.
    • Continuation of the foreign media campaign against the fascist right-wing government and its actions, and turning the spotlight on the actions of the settlers and actions that infringe upon the judicial law and international resolutions.
    • Authorization of the relevant elements to work to deepen the internal contradictions in [Israel], the occupying entity, especially with the special communities (Arabs, Bedouins, Druze, Circassians, etc.).

    Page 3 – Promote the armed struggle in the “West Bank” arena

    • Increase activity to consolidate the Jerusalem-resistance axis, formulate the united front plan, and mobilize all the resources of the [Arab and Islamic] nation, especially those who have been harmed by the occupation and its policies.
    • Urge the Turkish leadership to address the seriousness of welcoming [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu at this time, when the American administration and the Europeans still refuse to meet him and his ministers, so that Turkey will not be the one to break the state of isolation that the [Israeli] entity is experiencing.
    • We will have a] proactive media campaign aiming to prevent the meeting, and in case the meeting is still to take place, we will not place restrictions on [our] brothers to express their [opposing] positions and opinions.
    • The Gaza leadership’s decision [by general agreement] not to negotiate with Jordan or succumb to its pressure to stop assistance [in arms smuggling and operational guidance] to the [resistance] in the [West] Bank. [We will] examine the relationship with Jordan and emphasize the necessity of maintaining activity through this strategic arena with long borders [with Israel] and a large Palestinian presence.

    This document reflects Hamas’s determination to advance the armed struggle in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) front, to prepare its forces in the Gaza Strip for military action within the framework of the concept of unifying the regional conflict fronts, and to continue Hamas’s efforts to deepen the divisions in Israeli society.

    In the “Uvda” TV show on March 7, 2024, a fragment of a page of a document seized by the IDF in the Gaza Strip was briefly shown. Below is its translation:

    In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

    Summary of the small council meeting in the presence of Brother Abu Ibrahim [Yahya Sinwar’s alias] Assessment of the situation – [handwritten word erased] – the internal apparatus [referring to Hamas’s security/intelligence apparatus] – [Department of] [Armaments] Production – [Department of] Finance] – [Department of] [Security] Prisoners – [Lebanon] Arena] – the Government

    [Missing paragraph] Things will expand. We will act on this matter as much as we can find a way to act.

    We have concluded that the political conditions and the forces on the ground on which this Zionist government is based will assist us in carrying out the great project.

    Also, the nature of the relationship we are working on with the [Iranian] Axis of Resistance and the possibility of achieving [missing section] A campaign with Iran or the axis [axis of resistance] as they have committed [missing section]

    The [intelligence] assessment of the situation on the ground was presented in two parts: The first: the maneuvers [military exercises] that the enemy recently conducted in the southern command, and in particular the exercise of the northern brigade of the Gaza Division. Also, the military training with the American “air force,” A discussion was held, and an assessment was made by the [Department] of Operations regarding the nature of this military training, according to which these are mostly training of a specific nature and not comprehensive.

    The second: [Itamar] Ben Gvir’s raid into the Al-Aqsa [mosque]. The recommendations presented in the military intelligence assessment of the situation were emphasized. Security vigilance was emphasized, and the military intelligence department shared intelligence forecasts regarding the enemy’s intentions [as] for strategic thinking regarding a preemptive strike by the enemy.

    The violations and attacks of the enemy at the Al-Aqsa [Mosque] were discussed. There is no doubt that the enemy will increase the attacks against the Al-Aqsa [Mosque] in the near future, and it is estimated that the enemy’s next holiday period is “Passover” 4/6. It was agreed that it was necessary to postpone [initiating] the small clashes [along the Gaza border] until a time when something big [implying, a significant Israeli move in connection with the Al-Aqsa Mosque] takes place, and on this basis, military intelligence was required to evaluate the position of this new government and the new military command [on the Palestinian issue and especially with the Gaza Strip.]

    On December 21, 2023, military correspondent Yossi Yehoshua wrote in “Yediot Aharonot” (page 3 of the newspaper):

    As part of the IDF’s operation in Khan Yunis, the IDF has obtained new documents that detail the Gaza Hamas leader’s basic assumption, according to which the Shiite Iran-Hezbollah axis will not stay on the sidelines. In a situation assessment document obtained by Yedioth Aharonot, Sinwar wrote to his men: “We received a commitment that the axis will participate in the great liberation project due to the nature of the relationship we have.” In additional documents, he reiterates the commitment he received, according to which the operation in the south will entail a parallel operation in the north, for which Hizbullah has been training under the banner of “conquering the Galilee.”

    This document reflects the understandings that Hamas reached with Iran and Hizbullah within the framework of the unity of the fronts of confrontation, centered on building a military front intended to liberate Palestine in a pre-coordinated military move while exploiting the element of surprise. Ultimately, Sinwar chose to attack Israel without pre-coordinating the date with Iran and Hizbullah, in the belief that the axis of resistance, including the Arabs of Judea and Samaria and Israel, would inevitably join the battle.

    The newspaper “Yediot Aharonot” did not publish the original documents.

    On September 4, 2024, the IDF Spokesperson’s website published in Arabic documents seized in Gaza, which documented a conversation that took place in August 2022 between a senior Hamas figure, identified only by the first name Ahmed, and the commander of the military wing of Islamic Jihad, Akram al-Ajouri.

    Below is a translation of a section that was not translated by the IDF spokesman, in which the senior Hamas official explains the organization’s security concept vis-à-vis Israel, which is based on a defense plan that deters Israel from ground action in the Gaza Strip while simultaneously preparing an offensive plan against Israel:

    There are two parallel efforts, defensive and offensive, with a clear continuation of the defensive effort, and it is done within the framework of a concept related to achieving security for Gaza as a base of resistance and preventing a ground [military] campaign. In practice, we have achieved the goal. Today, the Israeli army opposes a ground campaign, and it regards it as its last course of action, and it presents the political echelon scenarios of 700 deaths if it invades Gaza. This does not occur in a vacuum but is a result of the defense plan, and the conditions in which the resistance operates today are a result of this defensive effort and also a result of the investment in offensive activity… We may not use our [military] equipment and our tunnels, but without them, we could not secure Gaza as a base of resistance.

    The document expresses the collapse of the Israeli concept of deterrence in the eyes of Hamas, which based its assessment, among other things, on the position of the IDF’s senior command, which warned the Israeli political echelon of the possible severe implications of a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

    On October 12, 2024, journalists Ronen Bergman, Adam Rasgon, and Patrick Kingsley revealed in an article in the New York Times the contents of 30 pages documenting ten secret meetings held by senior Hamas officials, which dealt with planning an attack to capture military bases and settlements around the Gaza Strip.

    The Times article cited only partial quotes from the documents that documented the secret discussions, which were held with the participation of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, Muhammad Deif, the supreme commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, Marwan Issa, Muhammad Deif’s deputy, and Muhammad Sinwar, commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ southern Khan Yunis brigade and Yahya Sinwar’s brother. The newspaper did not present a copy of the documents. It sufficed with a brief report on some of their content.

    On October 12, 2024, the Washington Post published short excerpts from 59 pages of documents seized by the IDF in Gaza, which dealt with Hamas’s plan to attack Israel and Hamas’s appeal to Iran for financial assistance that would advance the plan to destroy the State of Israel within two years. The newspaper presented a small number of copies of the documents that were handed over to it.

    As reviewed above, seized documents, comprising at least 30 and 59 pages, that were seized by IDF forces were passed on to media outlets in Israel and abroad, but the IDF spokesman chose not to make them available for the Israeli public to review.

    The writer contacted the IDF Spokesperson three times in writing (October 19 and 28 and November 4, 2024) and once orally (IDF Spokesperson’s Office) to receive a copy of the Hamas seized documents released to the media. I stated that the documents the IDF passed on to the media “are very essential for research and are unclassified” and that “I would be grateful for a copy of these documents being passed on to me to continue research on this subject.” No response was received from the IDF.

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