Israel and the armed Palestinian group Hamas are engaged in an escalating conflict that has resulted in nearly 1,000 casualties in a little over a day. Hamas launched a significant attack on Israel on Saturday, breaching the country’s heavily fortified separation fence and infiltrating Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier. Here is an overview of Hamas, the central figure in this crisis:
What is Hamas?
Hamas stands for the Islamic Resistance Movement and means “zeal” in Arabic. It exercises political control over the Gaza Strip, a 365 square kilometer territory with a population of over two million, which is under Israeli blockade.
Hamas assumed power in Gaza in 2007 following a brief war against Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. It was founded in Gaza in 1987 during the first Intifada and emerged as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The group established a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, with the goal of liberating historic Palestine and offered social welfare programs to Palestinians affected by Israeli occupation.
What are the group’s principles?
Hamas does not recognize Israel’s statehood but accepts the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. It opposes the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the PLO and has historically engaged in attacks on Israeli soldiers, settlers, and civilians in the occupied territories and within Israel. Various countries, including Israel, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Egypt, and Japan, classify Hamas as a “terrorist” organization.
Who are its allies and supporters?
Hamas belongs to a regional alliance that includes Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This alliance opposes American policies in the Middle East and Israel. Hamas and Islamic Jihad often unite against Israel and are critical members of a joint operations room coordinating military activities among armed groups in Gaza.
What triggered Saturday’s attack on Israel?
Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi stated that the group initiated the military operation in response to the decades-long oppression faced by Palestinians. The international community’s inaction on Gaza atrocities, including against Palestinians and holy sites like Al-Aqsa Mosque, served as the primary motivation.
Hamas also urged other groups to join the fight, signaling that Saturday’s attacks were just the beginning.
Is Hamas targeting civilians?
Osama Hamdan, senior spokesperson for Hamas, stated that the group does not intentionally target civilians, even though some of the group’s videos showed fighters taking elderly Israelis hostage during Saturday’s fighting. Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have reported civilian casualties inflicted by Hamas. Hamdan argued that they only target settlers living in illegal settlements, whom they consider legitimate targets.
How did Hamas carry out the attack?
Hamas reported that its fighters captured several Israelis in Gaza, sharing videos of fighters dragging wounded soldiers. The videos aligned with the area’s geography but could not be immediately verified. There are concerns that Israelis have been kidnapped, recalling the 2006 capture of soldier Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas-linked fighters held for five years until his exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas also deployed paragliders into Israel. This tactic mirrored a well-known late 1980s attack when Palestinian fighters crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel on hang-gliders, killing six Israeli soldiers.
