Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni Islamic terrorist organization that operates primarily in Gaza and the West Bank, with holdings in Arab countries throughout the Middle East.
Hamas was an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood political movement, and was established in 1987 in the wake of the First Intifada. According to Hamas’s charter, the organization was established to liberate Palestine from Israel in order to establish an Islamic state. It holds aspirations on all territory between the Mediterranean seas and the Jordan river, and refuses to acknowledge Israel in any capacity.
The group has a military wing, known as the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas has used a wide range of tactics, but it does not discriminate in its targets, and often targets civilians. It is recognized by most Western states as a terrorist organization. Hamas has engaged in a number of military confrontations with Israel. Its military wing has employed tactics such as suicide bombings, rocket attacks, kidnapping attempts, and tunnel infiltrations against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
In 2006, the Palestinians held legislative elections in Gaza, but when Hamas won, there was a civil war, and Hamas seized full control of the Strip. Under Hamas, Gaza has been in a longstanding state of conflict with Israel. From the 2005 Israeli disengagement onwards, Hamas has continued to commit terrorist attacks against Israelis from Gaza, and several operations have been fought to quell Hamas attacks, including 2008's Cast Lead, 2011's Pillar of Defense, 2014's Protective Edge, 2021's Guardian of the Walls, and 2024's Operation Swords of Iron.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists carried out an unprecedented invasion of southern Israel under the cover of widespread rocket-fire, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds to serve as hostages in Gaza. This started the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, which has seen the IDF carry out numerous strikes in Gaza and carrying out a ground invasion to wipe the terrorist group out.
In the year since, the IDF has managed to take out most of Hamas's leadership, including Saleh al-Arouri, Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, and Ismail Haniyeh.
IDF sources: It was like we had no legs or eyes and were just trying to figure out where to run.
intelligence only learned of the instances during the current war by a combination of capturing Hamas documents and interrogating Hamas prisoners.
The Israeli Air Force was carrying out a new 'Sword of Damocles' operation as it was carrying out the 'Hannibal directive,' the IDF's probes found.
Netanyahu swore to continue the advancement of Ethiopians in the Jewish state and to fight against discrimination and racism.
An arrest warrant was issued for Deif even though Israel had confirmed that he had been killed in an Israeli airstrike back in August 2024.
“We will not allow the demilitarization to be violated, nor will we allow any emerging threats," said Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The Prime Minister's Office also reiterated that Shlomo Mantzur, the oldest hostage, was murdered on October 7.
The IDF was supposed to reduce its presence on the Philadelphi Corridor and then withdraw from it completely over the course of the first 50 days.
Hamas’s armed wing has appointed new commanders and also begun repairing its underground tunnel network in preparation for the possibility of returning to war with Israel.
In multiple instances, the Arabic words for “Jews" were translated as “Israel” or “Israeli forces," or they were completely removed from the subtitles.
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