A report that the IDF discovered a USB key with instructions on how to make a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas infiltrator who took part in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Oct. 7 in which 1,400 Israelis were massacred has been confirmed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to Axios.

Herzog told Sky News that "this is how shocking the situation is where we're looking at the instructions that are given on how to operate and how to create a kind of non-professional chemical weapon with cyanide."

Herzog's comments were part of a broader Israeli diplomatic attempt to build up backing in the West for the Israeli military campaign against Hamas, according to Axios.

Axios reported over the weekend that the Israeli Foreign Ministry's weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation department sent a classified cable to its embassies in dozens of capitals across the globe, including Washington, late last week under the headline: "Hamas intention of using chemical weapons."

The authenticity of the Hamas file could not be independently verified by Axios. It is unclear from the file whether Hamas had any operational plan for producing makeshift chemical weapons or whether the terrorist organization had tried to do so.

Speaking to Sky News, Herzog showed printouts of the digital files that he said were recovered by the IDF from the USB key.

The Israeli president said that the instructions were part of an al-Qaida manual and presented a drawing of the makeshift cyanide dispersion device that was on the files.

Herzog said that the manual, dating to 2003, cements the connective ideology between the al-Qaida and Hamas terror organizations, The Jerusalem Post reported.

A Hamas spokesperson did not respond to an Axios request for comment.

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