Yahya Sinwar, the leader for the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas, has secretly spied on Palestinian citizens using a police force in the Gaza Strip that conducted surveillance operations and built files on young people, journalists, and those who questioned the government.
A stockpile of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times showed the secret police force, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported on their neighbors. The Times reported Monday the documents were provided by officials in Israel's military intelligence directorate, who said they were seized in Gaza raids.
People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. In some cases, the records suggested the authorities followed people to determine if they were carrying on romantic relationships outside marriage.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since it gained power after legislative elections in 2006, and Hamas has not held elections since. Many Palestinians know security officials watch them closely.
A 62-slide presentation on the activities of the General Security Service, delivered only weeks before Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel, revealed the degree to which the unit penetrated the lives of Palestinians, the Times reported.
The documents showed Hamas leaders would not tolerate even a whiff of dissent. Security officials trailed journalists and people they suspected of immoral behavior, the Times reported. Agents got criticism removed from social media and discussed ways to defame political adversaries. Political protests were viewed as threats to be undermined.
Palestinians not only have dealt with a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt on the movement of goods and people out of Gaza since Hamas' takeover, but it also must deal with the secret surveillance, as well as a threat from Israel's military operation in Gaza following the Oct. 7 massacre.
"We're facing bombardment by the occupation and thuggery by the local authorities," Ehab Fasfous, a journalist in the Gaza Strip who appeared in the files of the General Security Service, told the Times in a phone interview from Gaza.
Fasfous is labeled in one report as among "the major haters of the Hamas movement," the Times reported.
Israeli intelligence authorities believe that Sinwar directly oversaw the General Security Service, according to three Israeli intelligence officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity.
They said the slide show was prepared for Sinwar personally. The presentation said the General Security Service works to protect Hamas' people, property, and information, and to support its leadership's decision-making.
Some tactics such as amplifying Hamas' message appeared to be routine lobbying. In other cases, officials suggested using intelligence to undermine opponents and distort their reputations.
The General Security Service's goals are similar to those in countries like Syria that have used secret units to quell dissent, the Times reported. The files mentioned tactics like censorship, intimidation, and surveillance rather than physical violence.
"This General Security Service is just like the Stasi of East Germany," Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer specializing in Palestinian affairs, told the Times. "You always have an eye on the street."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.