A shocking new report reveals how Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar oversaw a secret police force created at his own behest to quash dissent. 

As per the New York Times, citing three Israeli intelligence officials, a covert unit known as the General Security Service had been conducting invasive surveillance on a wide range of activities in Gaza.  Boasting over 850 members and monthly expenses of $120,000 prior to the war, the General Security Service built files on government critics and worked to stamp out opposition to Hamas rule ruthlessly.

Anyone who dared to criticize Hamas found themselves under relentless surveillance, their reputations smeared by security officials armed with personal information. Protesters faced the risk of being placed in security files, while those accused of vaguely defined “immoral acts” were subjected to intrusive investigations, often based on mere hearsay.

Sinwar’s secret police harbored even greater suspicions of foreign organizations and journalists, meticulously recording details of their activities. For instance, they kept records of a Dutch reporter’s license plate number and his harmless interactions with locals during a protest. 

In another disturbing example, a foreign journalist who had attended protests and criticized Hamas online was targeted. The files on him, as seen in the report, describe the journalist as a “major hater of the Hamas movement” and callously suggested ways to “deal with” him. Sinwar’s secret police allegedly trailed him, seized his phone, and even used it to send flirtatious messages to a colleague in an attempt to fabricate a moral violation.