Overview

• Israeli forces say they found a handwritten memo attributed to Yahya Sinwar in an underground complex tied to his brother Muhammed Sinwar, who was later killed in an IDF strike.
• The document reportedly instructs militants to set neighborhoods ablaze and record the violence to destabilize Israel and rally support.
• One directive quoted by outlets reads that two or three operations should be prepared in which an entire neighborhood or kibbutz would be burned.
• The New York Times also reported intercepted Hamas communications on October 7 that ordered taking hostages, burning targets, and broadcasting the attacks.
• Media accounts note the memo, as presented, did not explicitly order killings or abductions, even as an Israeli-affiliated institute concluded the leadership planned extraordinary brutality.