The Prophet ﷺ called war a stratagem.
حدثنا يحيى بن آدم حدثنا ابن مبارك عن معمر عن همام بن منبه
عن النبي ﷺ أنه سمى الحرب خدعة
No references are available.
Its isnad is sahih, and it will come as part of a hadith in the collection of Hammam bin Munabbih, 8138. Bukhari and Muslim narrated it, as will come, Allah willing. Its meaning has already appeared several times in the hadith of Ali, including 696 and 1127.