IDF launches probe into documents from Gaza leaked to foreign press, says Sinwar ‘hostage strategy’ not new

The IDF has launched an internal investigation after documents recovered from the Gaza Strip were recently leaked to foreign press in an apparent attempt to influence public opinion on the hostage negotiations.

Over the weekend, a report by the German newspaper Bild claimed that a Hamas document found on the computer of leader Yahya Sinwar showed the terror group’s tactics to pressure Israel and stall the hostage talks.

The document’s alleged contents, which claimed that Hamas is seeking to sow division in the Israeli public and that the terror group is not looking to reach a deal quickly, were nearly identical to points made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent interviews and press conferences.

The IDF says that the document cited by Bild was found in Gaza some five months ago, and was not written by Sinwar himself, but rather was a recommendation paper drawn up by a mid-level Hamas officer.

“The information in the document joins other identical documents that we had in the past; it did not constitute new information,” the IDF says.

The military says the leak “constitutes a serious offense and will be investigated.”

Separately, supposed documents found in Gaza cited by UK newspaper The Jewish Chronicle claimed that Sinwar was planning to smuggle himself and other leaders from the terror group, along with some of the remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, out of Gaza via the Philadelphi Corridor and thence to Iran.

This claim too was similar to Netanyahu’s recent talking points regarding the hostage deal and the premier’s insistence on the IDF remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor.

However, unlike the document cited by Bild, in the case of the Jewish Chronicle the IDF is unaware of any such document actually existing.