The IDF opened an internal investigation over the weekend into documents that were found as loot in Gaza and were leaked to the foreign press after being manipulated and changed to push a narrative regarding the negotiations to release hostages in an attempt to influence public opinion.
The original report regarding the documents was published in the British Jewish Chronicle and additional details were published on Friday by the Bild, Germany's largest newspaper.
The two reports claimed to reveal secret internal Hamas documents, supposedly from Yahya Sinwar's computer. According to both reports, the documents reflect Sinwar's strategy, as Netanyahu claimed in an address and interviews last week, according to which the Hamas leader is trying to sow division in Israeli society, is not interested in reaching a deal, and intends on smuggling hostages out of Gaza through the Philadelphi Corridor to Egypt and then to Iran.
Upon investigation, it was found that the document published by the Bild was not Sinwar's and did not come from his computer, but rather stemmed from a lecture by a mid-ranking figure in the terror organization.
The IDF Spokesperson stated: "An examination over the weekend found that the document published by the Bild newspaper was found about five months ago. The document is an old document written as a suggestion by mid-ranking officials in Hamas and not by Sinwar. The information from the document joined similar documents that we had in the past, does not constitute new information, and after inquiry, its publication was not a mistake. The information on the matter was presented to the decision-makers several times, even before the above-mentioned document was found. The leak of the document is a severe infringement and it will be investigated by the authorized bodies."