[JPost] Dr. Yuval Bitton treated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a prison clinic in 2004, saving his life with a brain tumor diagnosis and facilitating an immediate transfer to the hospital.
Nineteen years later, Bitton’s nephew was killed by terrorists on October 7 in an attack orchestrated by the now-Hamas leader, he told CNN.
Bitton was employed as a dentist at Nafha Prison when he met Sinwar, who was serving four life sentences for the abduction and murder of two IDF soldiers.
The terror leader never completed his sentences, having been freed as part of a 2011 prisoner-hostage exchange that saw some 1,000 terrorists released in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
Bitton told CNN he felt he knew the attack was coming and immediately knew who was behind the devastating murders of more than 1,200 people.
"I know the person who planned and conceived and initiated this criminal attack," Bitton said. "I have known him since 1996 — not only him but the entire Hamas leadership in Gaza — and it was clear to me that this is what they were planning."
In 2004, Sinwar reportedly appeared before the doctor complaining of neck pain and a loss of balance.
"When he explained to me what was happening to him, I diagnosed it as a stroke, and together with the general practitioner, we decided to take him to the hospital," Bitton said. "He arrived at the hospital, the diagnosis was that he had an abscess in the brain, and he was operated on that day, thus saving his life — because if it had exploded, he would have died."
The terrorist leader allegedly acknowledged Bitton’s role in saving his life at the time and later promised during his 2011 release that he would repay the debt he owed to him.
"He also told me that on the day he was released in [Gilad] Shalit’s deal in 2011 that he owed me his life, and one day, he will repay it."
Repaying life with death
Despite his promise, Sinwar orchestrated the October 7 attacks, which saw Hamas terrorists infiltrate Israel and brutally murder civilians, foreign nationals, and soldiers.
Over 250 people were abducted during the attacks.
One of the victims of the attack was Bitton’s nephew Tamir.
Sinwar "made up for [saving his life] on October 7 in that he was also directly responsible for the murder of my nephew in Kibbutz Nir Oz," he said.
Tamir had been seriously wounded while attempting to fight off five terrorists, eventually losing the battle and being taken to Gaza. Only hours after his abduction, Tamir died of his wounds in Gaza.
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