An unprecedented surprise attack in southern Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, has led to an increasingly deadly conflict with no resolution in sight.
Hamas launched its coordinated attack on southern Israel on October 7, firing rockets, invading Israeli towns and army bases, killing hundreds of people, many of them civilians, and taking Israelis hostage. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza that have also killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas, gearing up for a potential ground invasion. More than 1,500 people have died on both sides as of October 9.
Hamas, designated by many nations as a terrorist organization, has been leading armed resistance against Israel for decades and also controls one of the two major political parties in Palestine. Though popular with some segments of Palestinian society, it remains highly divisive in Palestine and has often been at odds with more mainstream Palestinian politicians.
While it has somewhat moderated its militancy since it assumed the responsibility of governing Gaza, it’s not clear what the future holds now that it has shown that it is still willing to risk provoking a major Israeli military operation to achieve its aim of Palestinian self-determination. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has vowed “mighty vengeance” on Hamas, seemingly with the objective of reducing its ranks to a point of impotence.
Israel’s counterattack is intended to show “that it will be punitive partly for the sake of being punitive, and it will be aimed in part at destroying Hamas as an organization,” said Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. “It will definitely have an effect on Hamas as an organization, but it’s unclear … how successful it will be.”
Here’s what you need to know about Hamas and its role in the latest…
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