JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Newly uncovered handwritten notes from former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar show the terror group anticipated Israel could respond to a major attack with extreme measures, including possibly using a nuclear bomb.

The documents, dated August 2022, detail Sinwar’s expectations that Israel would be “surprised by the attack and enter into chaos” before using “the means and weapons at its disposal,” according to the notes. They explicitly add, “It is possible that it will even use a nuclear bomb.”

The notes outline plans for a large-scale coordinated assault involving thousands of fighters who would breach the Gaza border, seize Israeli communities and military bases. They also include specific instructions for hostage-taking during the operation.

Terrorists were directed to give “priority to children and women,” take “the men aged 17-50” as hostages, and seize phones and documents, the handwritten records state.

The revelation comes as Israeli authorities continue to analyze materials recovered from Hamas leaders and operatives following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Sinwar, the architect of the attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.

Israeli officials have long maintained that Hamas deliberately planned a brutal operation designed to provoke a massive Israeli response while embedding itself among Gaza’s civilian population. The notes provide further insight into the group’s pre-attack calculations and its apparent willingness to escalate to levels that could trigger existential threats to the Jewish state.

The documents were first reported by Israeli media outlets that obtained access to the materials recovered during the ongoing war against Hamas.