IDF investigates leak of 'Sinwar' document to German magazine as possible operation to influence Israeli public

A secret Hamas document, leaked to the German magazine Bild last week, is causing concern for Israel’s military, as they attempt to find out who was responsible.

The document, nitially thought to be authored by top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was actually produced by a lower-level Hamas official, according to Israel Defense Forces.

The IDF is investigating who leaked the classified document to Bild, given its confidential status and concerns that the leak aimed to sway Israeli public opinion on the hostage issue.

While the IDF did not deny the document's authenticity, it claimed it was not a recent find, but was acquired in mid-April and delivered to Military Intelligence Unit 8200. 

A military source familiar with the recently launched investigation into the leak told YNet News, “This is a very serious matter.” 

The source said the problem for the IDF is the apparent leak of the document as part of an influence campaign directed at the Israeli public. 

“The IDF and other intelligence agencies have systems whose role is to influence the red, that is, the enemy, but it is forbidden by law to try to operate such an influence system, certainly not through misuse of classified materials that were not even permitted to be distributed to the public. This is an influence campaign on the blue, the Israeli public,” the source said. “We are not dealing with a political issue but a thoroughly invalid move, and we are determined to track down the person or entity behind it.” 

At present, the IDF believes it may have been an attempt to sway public opinion in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance regarding the hostages and the Philadelphi Corridor. 

According to an N12 News report, the document was not seen by senior IDF or government officials nor by senior militaryintelligence officials, the team conducting the negotiations, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A senior military intelligence officer told N12, “We tried to warn that the document, like many other documents, is not receiving the importance it deserves. The document was not processed by intelligence personnel and remained at the raw level, buried deep in the hard drives of [Unit] 8200. It did not reach the top of Military Intelligence, nor to Nitzan Alon's team, and therefore was not discussed in the cabinet in forums dealing with the [hostage] deal.” 

The document reportedly outlined Hamas' strategy for influencing the international community in ceasefire negotiations and their approach to hostage negotiations. This includes strategies to harass and pressure the families of the abductees, such as the recent release of videos.

An IDF spokesperson said, “An examination carried out over the weekend shows that the document published in Bild newspaper was found about five months ago. The document is an old document, written as a recommendation by mid-level officials in Hamas and not by Sinwar.” 

“The information from the document joined other identical documents in our possession in the past, did not constitute new information and after clarification, no mistake was made in distributing it,” the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson appeared to contradict the statements of the anonymous intelligence official who spoke to N12, saying, “The information on the subject was presented to decision-makers several times, even before the document in question was located. The leak of the document constitutes a serious offense and it will be examined and investigated by the competent authorities.”