Wikipedia (en)
Hamas (UK: , US: ; Arabic: حماس Ḥamās [ħaˈmaːs]), officially the Islamic Resistance Movement (حركة المقاومة الإسلامية Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah), is a Sunni Islamist political and militant organization currently governing the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories. While it is headquartered in Gaza City, it also has a presence in the West Bank (the larger of the two Palestinian territories), in which Fatah exercises control. It is widely considered to be the "dominant political force" within the Palestinian territories. Its main political rivals are Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah.In 1987, shortly after the outbreak of the First Intifada against Israel, Hamas was founded by Palestinian politician Ahmed Yassin. It emerged out of Mujama al-Islamiya (also founded by Yassin), which had been established in Gaza in 1973 as a religious charity involved with the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas became increasingly involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by the late 1990s; it opposed the Israel–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition as well as the Oslo Accords, which saw Hamas' secular rival Fatah renounce "the use of terrorism and other acts of violence" and recognize Israel in pursuit of a two-state solution. Hamas continued to advocate Palestinian armed resistance to end the Israeli occupation. Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, gaining a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council, and subsequently took control of Gaza Strip from Fatah in 2007.Since 2007, Hamas has fought several wars with Israel. It historically sought an Islamic Palestinian state over the combined territory of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, rejecting the two-state solution and negotiations with Israel. In 2017, Hamas agreed to a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, but continued to not recognize Israel. Under the ideological principles of Islamism, it promotes Palestinian nationalism in an Islamic context; it has pursued a policy of jihad (armed struggle) against Israel. The Hamas government has pushed through changes that gave greater influence to Islamic law in the Gaza Strip. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.Since the mid-1990s, Hamas has gained popularity and support in Palestinian society, drawing support for its perceived lack of corruption and its anti-Israeli stance. Many Western countries and their allies have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, citing the militants' usage of human shields; methods of hostage-taking of civilians; and history of violence against non-combatants, including massacres of civilian populations, suicide bombings, and indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli population centres. However, a 2018 attempt to condemn Hamas for "acts of terror" at the United Nations failed.On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a major armed campaign dubbed "Operation al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel. As part of the offensive, Hamas militants broke through the Gaza–Israel barrier and engaged in massacres of civilian populations, attacks on Israeli military bases, and kidnappings of civilians and soldiers. The assault prompted an Israeli declaration of war and triggered active combat throughout Israel and the Gaza Strip.
