IDF says Hamas planned bombs near Gaza displacement camps to cover escape

Update, 19 October, 13:07 Israel time

A fuller version of the IDF statement, carried by The Times of Israel, explains the role of the Hamas engineering department that was cut off in the text available earlier. According to the military's statement as quoted by The Times of Israel, the department proposed placing bombs around the camps and setting them off as Israeli troops drew near, with the aim of causing panic among civilians that would cover the escape of Hamas fighters.

The same report says the IDF released the material as an infographic dated October 19, 2026, and that the statement goes on to describe a further proposed method: explosives laid along routes used by camp residents. The text breaks off before giving details of that second method.

An alert from Ynet, also citing the IDF, summarised the plan as Hamas intending to detonate charges it had placed in the camps in order to get its operatives out. The wording of the military statement quoted by The Times of Israel describes a proposal, and neither report says whether any devices were actually planted. N12 carried the IDF statement without further detail.

All three reports rely on the IDF as their only source.

The story as first reported

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has published what it describes as an internal planning document of Hamas, setting out an intention to place explosive devices in the areas of camps housing displaced people in the Gaza Strip during the war. The IDF spokesperson said in a statement that the plan formed part of Hamas preparations to shield its leadership and fighters and move them out of areas where Israeli forces were expected to operate.

According to the military's statement, as relayed in Hebrew by News.co.il, the document was written in April 2024 and is being made public for the first time. The IDF said the plan put the civilian population in the area at risk and exploited it, and that Hamas went ahead with it while aware that such actions could plainly harm civilians. The Hebrew version of the statement also says the document shows something about the Hamas engineering department, but the text available to us breaks off at that point.

Who released the document

The IDF spokesperson's unit is the Israeli military's official communications office. It publishes statements, operational updates and, from time to time, material it says was captured or obtained during fighting. Documents of this kind are released by the military itself, and their authenticity and full context are generally not open to outside inspection at the moment of publication.

Both reports available for this article trace back to that single statement. The first is the IDF's own English-language channel. The second, from the Israeli news outlet News.co.il, carries the Hebrew version and opens by crediting the IDF spokesperson. There is therefore one origin for every claim here: the Israeli military.

What the IDF says the document shows

As described by the military, the paper concerns planning rather than a report of an attack carried out. The stated purpose, in the IDF's account, was to protect Hamas commanders and operatives and to get them out of zones where Israeli ground activity was anticipated. The explosives, the IDF says, were to be placed in or beside areas where displaced Gazans were living.

The Hebrew text uses the term machanot ha'akurim, meaning camps of displaced people, rather than the long-established Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza. It refers to the encampments of people who left their homes during the war.

The IDF frames the document as evidence that Hamas knowingly endangered civilians. That characterisation is the military's own, and it is presented in the statement as a conclusion drawn from the document.

Why the dating matters

The IDF says the document dates from April 2024, which places it during the war in Gaza, and that it has not been published before. The statement does not explain why it is being released now, how long the military has held it, or how it came into Israeli hands.

What the reports do not say

The material available to us leaves several questions open:

• How the document was obtained. Neither report says where or when the IDF acquired it.
• Whether the plan was carried out. The statement describes a plan. It does not say whether any explosives were actually placed near displacement camps, or whether any civilians were harmed as a result.
• Which camps were involved. No specific locations within the Gaza Strip are named in the text available.
• The full text. Both versions of the statement we have are cut off. The role of the Hamas engineering department, mentioned in the Hebrew text, is not explained in what we can read.
• Independent confirmation. No outside body is cited as having examined the document, and no response from Hamas appears in either report.

Until further material is published, the existence and contents of the document rest on the IDF's description alone.