IDF releases letter by Sinwar’s 10-year-old son expressing desire to 'shoot Jews'

The Israeli military published a letter Thursday reportedly written by the 10-year-old son of late Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, expressing a desire to “shoot Jews” and play with toy weapons modeled on those used in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“Beloved father, I miss you very much! I want to hug you and see you victorious, and I want to proclaim ‘Allah is the greatest,’ hold a Kalashnikov, and shoot Jews,” 10-year-old son Ibrahim Sinwar wrote to his father at the beginning of the war in October 2023.

“When will you come back and sleep with your arms around me? I am constantly making pistols, tanks, and Kalashnikovs out of paper and cardboard,” he wrote. “My Lord, I wish the war would end and that I see you well. May Allah protect you, father. I want you to pray for me. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,” Ibrahim added.

The letter included drawings of an assault rifle, Israeli tanks positioned along the Gaza border and rockets fired toward Israel.

‼️ EXPOSED: A LETTER WRITTEN BY YAHYA SINWAR’S 10 YEAR OLD SON “I want to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews.” In a letter to his father, Ibrahim wrote that he makes “guns, tanks, and Kalashnikovs out of paper and cardboard” in his spare time and expressed his desire to shoot Jews. The letter, accompanied by drawings of weapons, tanks and missiles, reflects how Hamas’ ideology of hatred and violence impacts the younger generation in Gaza.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2026

The IDF said the letter and drawings were recovered during military operations in Gaza in 2024. Their publication marks two years since Israeli forces killed Yahya Sinwar in Rafah in October 2024.

The military said the material illustrated how “Sinwar’s murderous ideology is reflected in the upbringing of his children,” adding that it revealed the impact of Hamas’ “values of hatred and violence” on Gaza’s younger generation.

Yahya Sinwar is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the Oct. 7 invasion and attack in southern Israel, in which terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251 into Gaza. According to the IDF, Sinwar retreated to an underground hideout in his hometown of Khan Younis on the eve of the attack.

Sinwar spent much of the ensuing war evading Israeli forces, reportedly moving frequently through Hamas’ extensive underground tunnel network. Israeli forces nearly captured him on multiple occasions.

Citing unnamed sources, Israel's Ynet News reported last year that Sinwar’s wife had been smuggled from the Gaza Strip to Turkey, where she reportedly remarried. Turkey’s government reportedly backs Hamas, which maintains an established presence in the country.