JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday made public a handwritten letter written by the young son of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, in which the boy described wanting to take up a weapon against Jews.

The letter was written by Ibrahim Sinwar when he was 10, around the start of the war, and was recovered by IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip in 2024, the military said. Officials released it as the second anniversary of Sinwar’s death nears.​

Addressed to his father, the note expresses how much the child misses him and hopes to see him “victorious.” Ibrahim wrote that in his free time he makes pistols, tanks, and Kalashnikovs out of paper and cardboard, and declared his wish “to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews,” according to the IDF’s translation. He also asked when his father would return so he could sleep with his arms around him, and closed with a request for prayers and protection.​

The letter was accompanied by drawings the boy made showing weapons, tanks near the border fence between Gaza and Israel, and missiles being launched toward Israel.​

The IDF said the letter and drawings show how Sinwar’s ideology was reflected in the way his children were raised, and how Hamas’ emphasis on hatred and violence has affected a younger generation in Gaza.​

Sinwar, widely viewed as the chief planner of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and led to the taking of roughly 250 hostages, was killed by Israeli forces in Rafah on Oct. 16, 2024.​