Yarden Bibas met slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in captivity

The now-freed hostage asked Yahya Sinwar to keep him and his friend together – only for them to be separated weeks later.

By World Israel News Staff

Freed hostage Yarden Bibas spoke out about his experience in captivity during an interview aired on Tuesday evening, saying that he had met slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel,  while he was held hostage in Gaza.

Bibas, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz alongside his wife, Shiri, and two sons Ariel and Kfir.

The family was immediately separated, with Shiri and the children believed to have been murdered within a few weeks of their abduction.

In November 2023, Bibas recounted, he saw his friend, David Cunio, who was also abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, while being held in a subterranean tunnel in Gaza.

“David is my best friend, he has been with me my whole life,” Bibas told Hebrew-language outlet Channel 12 news.

Bibas recounted that Cunio saw him while en route to another area where hostages where being held.

“When he saw me for the first time, he was in shock,” Bibas said. “He thought he saw a ghost. I hugged him, and then he continued to the next place.”

After Hamas terrorists informed Bibas that his wife and children had been murdered – though they falsely claimed they were killed in an IAF airstrike – Bibas requested to be moved to the tunnel where Cunio was being held.

Bibas even asked the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, Yahya Sinwar, to ensure that he and Cunio would be held together.

“When Sinwar arrived at the tunnel, I said to him that this is my best friend and I want to stay with him. He said there was no problem, you can stay with him. After around two weeks, they separated us. I don’t know why,” Bibas recalled.

In October 2024, Sinwar was killed in a gun battle with IDF troops. Bibas was freed during a hostage exchange deal and ceasefire in February 2025.

Cunio’s 35th birthday is today (Wednesday, May 21st.) He is still held captive in the Strip, and presumed to be alive.