While Israel continues its search for Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli dentist Yuval Beiton revealed surprising details about Sinwar. Beiton, who joined Israeli intelligence years ago, confirmed that he spent hundreds of hours talking to Sinwar during his imprisonment at the Israeli Nafha prison. In an interview with CNN, he stated that as soon as he learned about the attack on October 7, he knew immediately that Sinwar was behind it.
Beiton said, "I have known him since 1996 and saved his life by helping to diagnose a brain tumor he was suffering from." He added that the mentioned prisoner came to the prison clinic in 2004 complaining of neck pain and loss of balance, and he diagnosed him with a stroke, deciding, along with the general physician, to transfer him to the hospital. He continued, explaining that Sinwar underwent surgery the same day, which saved his life at the time.
Moreover, he confirmed that after his recovery, Sinwar told him he owed his life to him, adding that he repeated these statements when he was released in a prisoner swap deal in 2011, which saw Sinwar and over 1,000 other Palestinians released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. However, he felt that Sinwar repaid this by killing his nephew on October 7 during Hamas's attack.
In response to a question about his assessment of Sinwar's mentality, Beiton said that the Hamas leader is primarily interested in remaining in power. He also stated that Sinwar is prepared to sacrifice even 100,000 Palestinians to ensure his rule in Gaza. He remarked, "He is willing to sacrifice the lives of movement members and leaders, as well as civilians, as a price for his survival," adding, "He doesn't care."
Additionally, he noted that "Sinwar still feels he is in a strong position," even more than eight months into the war. He added, "He manages negotiations from within the strip, still controls the areas evacuated by the Israeli army in Gaza, and also controls humanitarian aid, thus feeling powerful; therefore, he will not sign an agreement for the release of hostages unless the Israeli army withdraws and ends the war."
Despite this, Beiton criticized the Israeli government for not seeking an alternative to Hamas to take power in the strip after the war, considering it a mistake. It is noteworthy that Sinwar spent more than two decades in prison after being sentenced in 1989 to four life sentences for the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers. During his time in prison, he studied the Hebrew language and Israeli army tactics. After his release in 2011, Sinwar, who was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza in 1962, began his rise in Hamas leadership, which he joined in the late 1980s. He was appointed as the movement's leader in the strip in 2017.
