https://sputnikglobe.com/20240909/fake-hamas-leader-documents-leaked-to-foreign-media-to-influence-ceasefire-narrative—report-1120082515.html
Leaked Fake Docs ‘from’ Hamas Leader Target Foreign Media to Shape Ceasefire Narrative – Report
Leaked Fake Docs ‘from’ Hamas Leader Target Foreign Media to Shape Ceasefire Narrative – Report
Sputnik International
The IDF is investigating who leaked two classified documents that were modified and misrepresented in the media in order to influence public opinion about Israel, an Israeli news site reported on Sunday.
2024-09-09T03:16+0000
2024-09-09T03:16+0000
2024-09-09T06:29+0000
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According to Ynet, the IDF has opened an investigation into the leaks and confirmed to Ynet that they were not authentically represented in the media. They said the leaks were part of a disinformation campaign targeting international and domestic audiences.Both alleged letters reflect speeches made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and both were alleged to have come from Sinwar’s computer.One letter was published in The Jewish Chronicle, a UK-based newspaper. It was the basis of an article that alleged Sinwar was attempting to smuggle Israeli hostages to Iran using the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land between Gaza and Egypt, into the Sinai desert and eventually into Iran. It alleged that this showed Hamas was never serious about a hostage deal and only insisted Israel withdraw from the area so it could be used for their ends.After the article was published, its author said that there were only 20 Israeli hostages left alive in Gaza and many of them had been handcuffed to Sinwar to act as human shields.Ynet said that four Israeli military officials told them that the letter was a “wild invention” and stood in contrast to everything they knew about the situation in Gaza. They said there are believed to be more than 20 Israeli hostages still alive in Gaza and that they are not anywhere near Sinwar, much less able to be used as a human shield for him as he flees Gaza. They added that they had no idea who authored the letter or where the document came from.The second letter was the basis of an article in the German newspaper Bild, which as of 2016, was the most widely circulated paper in Europe. It supposedly included a document that was recently found on Sinwar’s computer that laid out a Hamas plan to manipulate the international community, “exert psychological pressure” on hostage family members and use a ceasefire to rearm. It claimed that the document was evidence that Hamas does not want a ceasefire and does not care about the suffering of Palestinian civilians.Instead, the IDF told Ynet that the document was found in April, was not found on Sinwar’s computer, and was a proposal by a mid-level Hamas member and not a directive from Sinwar. It added that the tactics mentioned were not new and that they were suggested as ways to increase the international pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire, demonstrating that Hamas does want a ceasefire, the opposite of the claim made in the Bild article.The sources added that the document was scooped up as part of a massive-information gathering campaign launched in Gaza after October 7 that includes at least 10 million documents. They said that Israel saw it as a proposal from a mid-level operative and contained no new information and gave it an appropriately low classification level.An IDF spokesperson confirmed that the document published in Bild was not as described in the paper.“An inspection carried out over the weekend shows that the document published in the Bild newspaper was found about five months ago. The document is old, written as a recommendation by middle ranks in Hamas and not by Sinwar. The information from the document was added to other identical documents that we had in the past. It did not constitute new information, and after investigation – no mistake was made in its distribution. The information on the subject was presented to the decision makers several times even before the document in question was located. The leaking of the document constitutes a serious offense and it will be checked and investigated by the authorized authorities,” the spokesman said.Both articles remain on The Jewish Chronicle and Bild websites without correction at press time.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240903/netanyahu-refuses-surrender-to-israeli-protesters-demanding-hostage-deal-1119991461.html
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Israeli news site Ynet has published a report detailing an Israeli Defense Force investigation into two letters alleged to be from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that were leaked to international media. In both cases, the letters were misrepresented or doctored and were leaked to influence public opinion.
According to Ynet, the IDF has opened an investigation into the leaks and confirmed to Ynet that they were not authentically represented in the media. They said the leaks were part of a disinformation campaign targeting international and domestic audiences.
“There are systems in the IDF and other intelligence agencies whose job it is to influence [the enemy,] but according to the law it is forbidden to try and operate such an influence system, certainly not with the perfunctory use of classified materials that were not allowed to be distributed in the public at all,” an IDF officer with knowledge of the investigation told Ynet. “This is an influence campaign on [the Israeli public.] We are not dealing with politics, but with a completely wrong move and we are determined to find the person or entity behind it.”
Both alleged letters reflect speeches made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and both were alleged to have come from Sinwar’s computer.
One letter was published in The Jewish Chronicle, a UK-based newspaper. It was the basis of an article that alleged Sinwar was attempting to smuggle Israeli hostages to Iran using the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land between Gaza and Egypt, into the Sinai desert and eventually into Iran. It alleged that this showed Hamas was never serious about a hostage deal and only insisted Israel withdraw from the area so it could be used for their ends.
After the article was published, its author said that there were only 20 Israeli hostages left alive in Gaza and many of them had been handcuffed to Sinwar to act as human shields.
Ynet said that four Israeli military officials told them that the letter was a “wild invention” and stood in contrast to everything they knew about the situation in Gaza. They said there are believed to be more than 20 Israeli hostages still alive in Gaza and that they are not anywhere near Sinwar, much less able to be used as a human shield for him as he flees Gaza. They added that they had no idea who authored the letter or where the document came from.
The second letter was the basis of an article in the German newspaper Bild, which as of 2016, was the most widely circulated paper in Europe. It supposedly included a document that was recently found on Sinwar’s computer that laid out a Hamas plan to manipulate the international community, “exert psychological pressure” on hostage family members and use a ceasefire to rearm. It claimed that the document was evidence that Hamas does not want a ceasefire and does not care about the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
Instead, the IDF told Ynet that the document was found in April, was not found on Sinwar’s computer, and was a proposal by a mid-level Hamas member and not a directive from Sinwar. It added that the tactics mentioned were not new and that they were suggested as ways to increase the international pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire, demonstrating that Hamas does want a ceasefire, the opposite of the claim made in the Bild article.
The sources added that the document was scooped up as part of a massive-information gathering campaign launched in Gaza after October 7 that includes at least 10 million documents. They said that Israel saw it as a proposal from a mid-level operative and contained no new information and gave it an appropriately low classification level.
An IDF spokesperson confirmed that the document published in Bild was not as described in the paper.
“An inspection carried out over the weekend shows that the document published in the Bild newspaper was found about five months ago. The document is old, written as a recommendation by middle ranks in Hamas and not by Sinwar. The information from the document was added to other identical documents that we had in the past. It did not constitute new information, and after investigation – no mistake was made in its distribution. The information on the subject was presented to the decision makers several times even before the document in question was located. The leaking of the document constitutes a serious offense and it will be checked and investigated by the authorized authorities,” the spokesman said.
Both articles remain on The Jewish Chronicle and Bild websites without correction at press time.
