Hamas

{{bronze}}
[[File:Flag_of_Hamas.svg|thumb|165px|The flag of Hamas. The text is the {{wpl|Shahada|''shahada''|,}} the Islamic creed, which Islamic fundamentalists enjoy putting on their flags.]]
{{islam}}
The '''Islamic Resistance Movement''' (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الإسلامية, ''Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah''), frequently abbreviated to '''Hamas''' (Arabic: حَمَاس, ''Ḥamās'') is a [[Palestine|Palestinian]] [[Islamist]] militant political organization which has governed the {{wpl|Gaza Strip|}} since 2007. Hamas sees itself as a resistance front against [[Israel]]'s occupation of Palestinian territories, although its larger goal is the elimination of Israel altogether. It has been designated as a [[terrorist]] organization by the [[United States]],<ref>[https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/ Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations]. ''US Department of State.''</ref> the [[United Kingdom]],<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2/proscribed-terrorist-groups-or-organisations-accessible-version Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations]. ''UK Home Office.''</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/26/eu-court-upholds-hamas-terror-listing EU court upholds Hamas terror listing]. ''The Guardian.'' 26 Jul 2017.</ref> [[Japan]],<ref>[https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/kaiken/kaikenwe_000001_00009.html Press Conference by Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko December 8, 2023]. ''Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.''</ref> Israel, and other countries. Hamas is known for [[suicide]] bombings against civilian targets,<ref>Chen Tianshe. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19370679.2012.12023205 Exploration of the Hamas Suicide Attacks]. ''Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia) Vol. 6, No. 2, 2012''.</ref><ref> Saarnivaara, Minn (2008). "Suicide Campaigns as a Strategic Choice: The Case of Hamas". ''Policing.'' 2 (4): 423–33. doi:10.1093/police/pan061. </ref> launching unguided explosive rockets into Israel,<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/iopt0707/1.htm Human Rights Watch Report, 2007].</ref> and for committing terrorist attacks against rival Palestinian political groups.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2008/07/31/93143826/palestinian-rivals-accused-of-human-rights-abuses Palestinian Rivals Accused Of Human Rights Abuses]. ''NPR.'' July 31, 2008.</ref> Violent exchanges between Israel and Hamas have escalated into multiple wars, such as the {{wpl|Gaza War (2008–2009)|2008 Gaza war|,}} the {{wpl|2012 Gaza War|,}} the {{wpl|2014 Gaza War|,}} the {{wpl|2021 Israel–Palestine crisis|2021 "Unity Intifada"|,}} and a major war which began with Hamas' brutal terrorist attacks on October 7th, 2023, and lasted over a year.<ref>{{cite web | title=Gaza ceasefire: What the Israel-Hamas agreement means | website=Brookings | date=2025-01-17 | url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/gaza-ceasefire-what-the-israel-hamas-agreement-means/}}</ref>

{{wpl|Ahmed Yassin|}} founded Hamas in 1987 during the {{wpl|First Intifada|}}, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. At its inception, it was closely tied to the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. It gradually gained influence to the point where it won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 due to widespread discontent with the corruption and ineffectiveness of {{wpl|Fatah|}}, the previous ruling party.<ref>Scott Wilson, [https://archive.ph/0zGL Hamas Sweeps Palestinian Elections, Complicating Peace Efforts in Mideast]. Archived from ''The Washington Post'', 27 January 2006.</ref> This election result immediately sparked a violent power struggle between the two factions, culminating in Hamas taking control of Gaza in 2007 and beginning to govern it seperately.<ref>[https://www.brookings.edu/articles/battle-for-gaza-hamas-jumped-provoked-and-pushed/ Battle for Gaza: Hamas Jumped, Provoked and Pushed]. ''Brookings Institute.'' August 16, 2007.</ref> Israel immediately put the Gaza Strip under a near-total blockade, and [[Egypt]] followed suit in 2014.<ref>[https://www.unicef.org/mena/documents/gaza-strip-humanitarian-impact-15-years-blockade-june-2022  The Gaza Strip | The humanitarian impact of 15 years of blockade - June 2022]. ''UNICEF''. June 2022.</ref> This caused a rapidly worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. There has not been a Palestinian election since 2008.

After a destructive series of conflicts, Hamas attempted to moderate its image in 2017 by amending its charter to remove [[antisemitic]] language and claim that its conflict was with [[Zionism]] rather than [[Judaism]].<ref>Seurat, Leila (2019). The Foreign Policy of Hamas. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781838607449. p. 17.</ref> The same year, Hamas claimed that it would accept peace with Israel based on the 1967 borders.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/5/2/hamas-accepts-palestinian-state-with-1967-borders Hamas accepts Palestinian state with 1967 borders]. ''Al Jazeera.'' 2 May 2017.</ref> Under [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], Israeli government policy during this time was to bolster Hamas in order to keep Palestinians divided between Hamas and Fatah and therefore undermine the credibility of a two-state solution.<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/ For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces]. ''Times of Israel.'' 8 October 2023.</ref>

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a massive, deadly terrorist attack against Israel. During their incursion into Israeli territory, Hamas militants summarily executed civilians, burned villages, mutilated and paraded corpses, and committed acts of sexual violence.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/october-7-crimes-against-humanity-war-crimes-hamas-led-groups October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups]. ''Human Rights Watch.'' July 17, 2024.</ref> The attack resulted in an estimated 1,200 deaths, and Hamas took over 240 hostages.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1212458974/israel-revises-death-toll-hamas-attacks-oct-7 Israel revises down its death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to about 1,200]. ''NPR.'' November 11, 2023.</ref> Hamas' actions provoked international outrage, and Israel retaliated by bombing and invading the Gaza Strip. During the [[war]], Israel's actions against civilian targets escalated to an extent that they have been credibly labeled [[genocide]].<ref>[https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147976 Rights expert finds ‘reasonable grounds’ genocide is being committed in Gaza]. ''UN News.'' 26 March 2024.</ref> Despite Israel's best efforts, Hamas remained active through 2024 despite its diminished capabilities<ref>[https://acleddata.com/2024/10/06/after-a-year-of-war-hamas-is-militarily-weakened-but-far-from-eliminated/ After a year of war, Hamas is militarily weakened — but far from ‘eliminated’]. ''Armed Conflict Location and Event Data''. 6 October 2024.</ref> and emerged from the war in January 2025 still in firm control over the post-apocalyptic wasteland that was once the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite web | last=Magdy | first=Samy | last2=Krauss | first2=Joseph | title=After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza | website=AP News | date=2025-01-20 | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-ceasefire-hostages-militants-rule-93da074c251d0fcaa395503749e2849e}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Israeli flag burning in Gaza 1994.jpg|thumb|right|365px|Gazan protesters burn an Israeli flag, 1994.]]
===Origins===
{{cquote|And certainly by this stage, 1987, 20 years of occupation - what have the PLO done? When I say PLO, what has Fatah done? Nothing, virtually... In fact, it's actually gotten worse, where we are further away from an independent state than we've ever been before.|||Martin Kear, author of ''Hamas and Palestine: The Contested Road to Statehood'', explains what Gazans were feeling during the 1987 First Intifada.<ref name="nprhist">[https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1198908227 A History of Hamas.] ''NPR.'' November 16, 2023.</ref>}}
Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egyptian occupation in the 1967 Six-Day War.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39960461 1967 war: Six days that changed the Middle East]. ''BBC News.'' 5 June 2017.</ref> Israeli occupation was heavy-handed, seeing thousands of homes bulldozed and Arab families exiled to the Sinai Peninsula.<ref>Ehud Eiran, ''Post-Colonial Settlement Strategy'', Edinburgh University Press 2019 ISBN 978-1-474-43759-2 p.83</ref> Long-term Israeli strategy was to empty the Gaza Strip to the extent possible to make way for settlement, and one of the Israeli cabinet's proposed strategies was to limit access to [[water]] in order to motivate Arabs to leave.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-11-17/ty-article/.premium/israeli-pm-in-67-well-deprive-gaza-of-water-and-the-arabs-will-leave/0000017f-e8df-da9b-a1ff-ecff5b720000 Israeli Prime Minister After Six-Day War: 'We'll Deprive Gaza of Water, and the Arabs Will Leave']. ''Haaretz.'' Nov 17, 2017.</ref> In short, Israeli misrule caused conditions in the Gaza Strip to deteriorate, and fast.

Israel also turned a blind eye to the rise of [[Islamism]] in favor of focusing on what it saw as a greater threat, the [[secular]] Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by the Fatah faction and its leader, Yasser Arafat.<ref name="plothreat">[https://time.com/6324221/hamas-origins-history/ What the World Can Learn From the History of Hamas]. ''TIME Magazine.'' October 17, 2023.</ref> One of the major Islamist organizations that was active in the region was the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], and it won support in Gaza by supplying food, education, and other social services to the impoverished locals.<ref name="nprhist"/> A Muslim Brotherhood member, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, then decided to found his own organization. Israel granted Yassin a license in 1979 to found a [[charity]] group called the ''al-Mujama al-Islamiya'', or the Islamic Center.<ref name="nprhist"/> It was far more than a simple charity organization. The Islamic Center also conducted community organization and encouraged political activism, and Israeli officials actually viewed this development as a positive one, as it caused political division among Palestinians.<ref>Andrew Higgins, [https://archive.ph/jqRnb How Israel helped to spawn Hamas]. Archived from ''The Wall Street Journal'', 24 January 2009.</ref>

In 1987, popular discontent across Palestine resulted in the First Intifada, a series of protests and riots across the region. The Islamist movement which had been growing in Gaza was unhappy with the lack of results shown by the PLO's leadership, as well as the PLO's interest in engaging in diplomacy with Israel. Yassin's charity organization reinvented itself as Hamas, a militant force that intended to fight against Israeli occupation while repudiating secularism.<ref>Jean-Pierre Filiu. "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2012.xli.3.54 The Origins of Hamas: Militant Legacy or Israeli Tool?]" ''Journal of Palestine Studies'', Vol. 41, No. 3 (Spring 2012). p. 54-70 (17 pages).</ref>  

===Terrorism and the sabotaged peace===
[[File:Dizengoff Street bus bombing, 1994 Dan Hadani Archive I.jpg|thumb|right|325px|Aftermath of a Hamas suicide bombing that killed 23 people in Tel Aviv, 1994.]]
In 1993, the First Intifada ended in diplomacy, as US President [[Bill Clinton]] brought Fatah's Yasser Arafat and Israel's Yitzhak Rabin together to sign the Oslo Accords, which was intended to pave the way for the creation of a democratic Palestinian state.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66751704 Oslo Accords: 30 years of lost Palestinian hopes]. ''BBC News.'' 12 September 2023.</ref> The hope provided by the Oslo Accords did not last. Israeli settlements across Palestine continued. In 1994, [[Jewish]] terrorist Baruch Goldstein committed a mass shooting at a holy site in Hebron that resulted in 29 Palestinian deaths.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-733523 10% of Israeli Jews think terrorist Baruch Goldstein is a 'national hero' - poll]. ''Jerusalem Post.'' MARCH 6, 2023.</ref> In 1995, another Jewish fanatic shot and killed Yitzhak Rabin.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/assassination-yitzhak-rabin-never-knew-his-people-shot-him-in-back The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin: ‘He never knew it was one of his people who shot him in the back’]. ''The Guardian.'' 31 Oct 2020.</ref> This removed a major figure within the Israeli government who had been pushing for peace and coexistence. 

[[File:הפיגוע בדולפינריום 1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Israeli emergency services respond to a suicide bombing that killed 21 people, 2001.]]

As the peace process deteriorated, Hamas grew in influence. It endorsed suicide bombings and car bombings against civilians as legitimate methods to punish the Israelis. In April 1994, a Hamas car bomb killed 8 people and wounded 40 near a bus stop in the Israeli town of Afula, stated to be a retaliation for Baruch Goldstein's massacre.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/04/07/8-killed-40-injured-in-car-bomb-blast-at-israeli-bus-stop/6feb4aef-1e8f-4d32-bfe5-79bf5d468760/ 8 KILLED, 40 INJURED IN CAR BOMB BLAST AT ISRAELI BUS STOP]. ''Washington Post.'' 6 April 1994.</ref> In October 1994, a much deadlier Hamas suicide bombing in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, took 23 lives.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/dizengoff-street-attack-evokes-memories-of-tel-aviv-terror-trauma-439122 Dizengoff Street attack evokes harsh memories of Tel Aviv terror trauma]. ''Jerusalem Post.'' JANUARY 1, 2016.</ref> The Israeli public reaction was about what you'd expect. Demanding retaliation and a hard line against Palestinian terrorism, Israeli voters in 1996 turfed out the pro-peace Labor government and replaced them with the hawkish, right-wing Likud, led by [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref name="plothreat"/> 

Netanyahu denounced the Oslo Accords, saying the peace process was incompatible with Israel's need for security and its right to claim the entire region in the name of the Jewish people.<ref name="oslogone">[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/12/oslo-israel-reneged-colonial-palestine It's now clear: the Oslo peace accords were wrecked by Netanyahu's bad faith]. ''The Guardian.'' 12 Sep 2013.</ref> His main tactic in destroying the Oslo Accords was in escalating the rate of settlement constructions and land acquisitions in Palestine, splitting Palestinian regions into smaller pieces that couldn't feasibly constitute an independent state.<ref name="oslogone"/> When Palestinians objected to this strategy, Netanyahu said it was evidence that Palestine was choosing militancy over peace.

Meanwhile Hamas terrorist attacks continued. In July 1997, for instance, two Hamas suicide bombers in [[Jerusalem]] killed 15 people.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-31-mn-18153-story.html Suicide Blasts at Busy Market Kill 15 in Jerusalem]. ''Los Angeles Times.'' July 31, 1997.</ref> During and after the Second Intifada of 2000, Hamas' terrorist activities intensified and now featured rocket attacks and mass shootings.<ref name="plothreat"/> The deadliest and most infamous bombing was the 2002 {{wpl|Passover massacre|}}, an attack on a hotel in Netanya that killed 30 Israeli civilians.<ref>Robert J. Brym, Bader Araj. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3844485?seq=13 Suicide Bombing as Strategy and Interaction: The Case of the Second Intifada]. ''Social Forces'', Vol. 84, No. 4 (Jun., 2006), pp. 1969-1986 (18 pages).</ref>

===Takeover of the Gaza Strip===
[[File:Hamas fighters in Abbas' Gaza office.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Hamas fighters in the abandoned office of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, 2007.]]
In 2004, Israel assassinated Hamas' founder Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter attack and then killed his immediate successor quickly thereafter.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-haniyeh-hezbollah-assassination-71f26e21f4b5e1ad7887197bf2beb446 Israel has a long history of targeted killings. Here’s a look at some of them]. ''Associated Press.'' July 31, 2024.</ref> Khaled Meshal, another Muslim Brotherhood member who was exiled to [[Syria]], took control of the group.<ref>[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/profile-khaled-meshal-aka-khalid-meshaal-khaleed-mashal Profile of Khaled Meshal (aka Khalid Meshaal, Khaleed Mash’al)]. ''Council on Foreign Relations.'' July 13, 2006.</ref> He changed Hamas' long-term strategy by aligning it with Israel's longtime foe [[Iran]], winning a powerful new sponsor despite Hamas being a fundamentalist [[Sunni]] organization.<ref name="plothreat"/> 

Meanwhile, Hamas attacks against Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip were escalating, and the Israeli occupation was ineffective in preventing terrorist attacks and rocket strikes.<ref name="gazaout">[https://www.npr.org/2023/11/21/1214529460/former-israeli-prime-minister-reflects-on-the-2005-withdrawal-from-gaza Former Israeli prime minister reflects on the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza]. ''NPR.'' November 21, 2023.</ref> Then-current prime minister Ariel Sharon made the decision in 2005 to withdraw the [[IDF]] from the Gaza Strip and forcibly dismantle the Israeli settlements that had been built there.<ref name="gazaout"/> Netanyahu resigned from the cabinet in disgust.<ref name="gazaout"/> The withdrawal was also in part a product of negotiations with the recently-elected Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, who renounced armed resistance and said he wanted a peaceful and diplomatic two-state solution.<ref name="plothreat"/> 

A pivotal moment in Gaza's history came in 2006, Hamas crushed Fatah in the Palestinian legislative elections by winning 76 seats versus Fatah's 43 in the 132 seat chamber.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/26/israel1 Hamas celebrates election victory]. ''The Guardian.'' Jan 2006.</ref> It is important to note that Hamas did so with a bare plurality of the vote (44%), and its victory had been fueled by popular dissatisfaction with Fatah's corruption and ineffectiveness rather than support for terrorism.<ref name="wapoelect">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/24/gaza-election-hamas-2006-palestine-israel/ The election that led to Hamas taking over Gaza]. ''The Washington Post.'' October 24, 2023.</ref> The election result caused consternation in the administration of [[George W. Bush]], which, at the height of the [[War on Terror]], had just watched a terrorist organization win an election.<ref>[https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/was-hamas-elected-to-govern-gaza-george-w-bush-2006-palestinian-election.html How George W. Bush Helped Hamas Come to Power]. ''Slate.'' Oct 24, 2023.</ref> Many Western countries halted foreign aid to Palestine, and Israel immediately placed the Gaza Strip under a near-total blockade.<ref name="wapoelect"/>

Fatah didn't react well either, and fighting broke out between the two main Palestinian factions as Fatah tried to reassert control over Gaza.<ref name="wapoelect"/> Both Hamas and Fatah engaged in atrocities against each other throughout 2006 and early 2007, summarily executing captives, slaughtering civilians, bombing buildings, and shooting up hospitals.<ref name="hamfathrw">[https://www.hrw.org/news/2007/06/12/gaza-armed-palestinian-groups-commit-grave-crimes Gaza: Armed Palestinian Groups Commit Grave Crimes]. ''Human Rights Watch.'' June 2007.</ref> Hamas frequently executed captives by throwing them off skyscrapers.<ref name="hamfathrw"/> Hamas won the conflict, forcing Fatah officials to flee the Gaza Strip and assuming total control.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/15/israel4 Hamas takes control of Gaza]. ''The Guardian.'' 15 Jun 2007.</ref>

===Uh-oh, it's time for war===
[[File:Operation Cast Lead XXVII.jpg|thumb|right|375px|IDF soldiers in a firefight with Hamas during Operation Cast Lead.]]
{{cquote|Each time the terrorist group strikes and Israel responds with force, Hamas gains allegiance from Palestinians. The terrorist group has also grown its popularity by providing education, hospitals, and social services where governance has collapsed. This intermixing of governmental services with terrorism makes it nearly impossible for Israel to wipe Hamas out. It also increases the odds of civilian casualties, which will only worsen the vicious cycle in which Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged for decades.|||[[California]] State University professor {{wpl|Ibrahim al-Marashi|}} in ''Time Magazine,'' October 17, 2023.<ref name="plothreat"/>}}   
After taking control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas used it as a base to construct and launch more rockets into Israel. The attacks wounded hundreds and caused chaos and population displacement in the affected areas despite Israel's hurried construction of an early-warning system.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/08/06/rockets-gaza/harm-civilians-palestinian-armed-groups-rocket-attacks  Rockets from Gaza:  Harm to Civilians from Palestinian Armed Groups’ Rocket Attacks]. ''Human Rights Watch.'' August 6, 2009.</ref> A ceasefire brokered by [[Egypt]] in June 2008 temporarily halted the attacks, but it broke down in November when Israel launched a raid into Gaza to kill six Hamas fighters.<ref name="castlead">[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/07/ten-years-first-war-gaza-operation-cast-lead-israel-brute-force Ten years after the first war on Gaza, Israel still plans endless brute force]. ''The Guardian.'' 7 Jan 2019.</ref> By 27 December, the situation had deteriorated into war with the beginning of Israel's "Operation Cast Lead".

[[File:Destroyed ambulance in the CIty of Shijaiyah in the Gaza Strip.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A bombed ambulance in Gaza after Operation Protective Edge.]]

Well, maybe war is overselling things a bit. Hamas had no capability and even less interest in shielding the civilians of the Gaza Strip from Israeli weaponry, and Israel killed over 1,400 Gazan civilians despite using precision-guided weaponry.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/mde150212009eng.pdf Israel/Gaza: Operation ‘Cast Lead’ - 22 Days of Death and Destruction]. ''Amnesty International.'' 02 July 2009.</ref> Thousands more had their homes and businesses destroyed. Operation Cast Lead concluded after 22 days, having obviously been a punitive expedition more than anything else.<ref name="castlead"/>

In November 2012, after more rocket attacks from Hamas, Israel began "Operation Pillar of Defense", another series of airstrikes that killed dozens more Gazan civilians.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/12/israel-gaza-airstrikes-violated-laws-war Israel: Gaza Airstrikes Violated Laws of War]. ''Human Rights Watch.'' 12 February 2013.</ref> During the operation, Hamas also fired more than 1,500 rockets indiscriminately into Israeli civilian areas killing multiple Israeli civilians.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/11/year-deadly-israelgaza-conflict-nightmare-continues/ A year on from deadly Israel/Gaza conflict, the nightmare continues]. ''Amnesty International.'' November 14, 2013.</ref> In July and August 2014, Israel's "Operation Protective Edge" saw more indiscriminate bombing by both sides, but the IDF also got bogged down into an extremely brutal ground battle against Hamas forces in Gaza City.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-military-urban-battle-89e45b149f3b88cd647cf6376dbfe0ac Urban battle from past Gaza war offers glimpse of what an Israeli ground offensive might look like]. ''Associated Press.'' October 16, 2023.</ref> The 2014 war is also remarkable because clear evidence that Hamas had used residential areas as cover while firing rockets at Israel forced a rare admission of "mistakes" from the terrorist group.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hendawi | first=Hamza | last2=Federman | first2=Josef | title=Evidence growing that Hamas used residential areas | website=AP News | date=2014-09-12 | url=https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-middle-east-hamas-152644963f4249a7a21154446649910a}}</ref>

None of Israel's military operations were successful in destroying Hamas. Each time, Hamas reemerged with more fighters and more rockets, and its popularity had been bolstered as Gazan civilians grew angrier and angrier at Israel's destructive actions in Gaza.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-conflict-endgame-1bfcc187d826596e78090ec6cbf6516c What was Hamas thinking? For over three decades, it has had the same brutal idea of victory]. ''Associated Press.'' October 11, 2023.</ref>

===Talk of moderation===
In 2017, Hamas published a new charter document which, in sharp contrast to the group's previous rhetoric, indicated support for at least a temporary two-state solution and dropped most of the [[antisemitism]].<ref name="newcharter">{{cite web | last=Fisher | first=Ian | title=In Palestinian Power Struggle, Hamas Moderates Talk on Israel | website=The New York Times | date=2017-05-01 | url=https://archive.ph/q4sOE}}</ref> While this sudden moderation was widely seen as a mere attempt to undermine the credibility of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas right before his planned visit with US president [[Donald Trump]],<ref name="newcharter"/> the prospect of a moderating Hamas had been brought up before due to occasional comments and actions by Hamas in the past.<ref>{{cite web | last=Peralta | first=Eyder | title=Hamas Foreign Minister: We Accept Two-State Solution With '67 Borders | website=NPR | date=2011-05-17 | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/05/24/136403918/hamas-foreign-minister-we-accept-two-state-solution-with-67-borders}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The Long Road to a Moderate Hamas | website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | date=2012-11-18 | url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2012/11/the-long-road-to-a-moderate-hamas?lang=en}}</ref> 

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum went on international television shortly after the new charter's publication and reiterated Hamas' new stance: "To the world, our message is: Hamas is not radical. We are a pragmatic and civilized movement."<ref>{{cite web | last=Cristol | first=Jonathan | title=Don’t be fooled by Hamas’ rebranding | website=CNN | date=2017-05-02 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/opinions/hamas-has-not-changed-cristol-opinion/index.html}}</ref> The same message came from Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during a press conference from [[Qatar]], in which he said that, "Hamas believes our struggle is against the Zionist occupation, the Zionist enterprise. It's not a struggle against Jews or Judaism."<ref name="hammessa">{{cite web | last=Knell | first=Yolande | title=How much of a shift is the new Hamas policy document? | website=BBC News | date=2017-05-02 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39775103}}</ref>

While cautious hopes were raised elsewhere, the Israeli government publicly rejected the idea of a changing Hamas, noting that the 2017 charter still called for "armed resistance."<ref name="hammessa"/> As a publicity stunt, Prime Minister Netanyahu ripped up the Hamas charter on camera and threw it in a trash bin.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lewis | first=Ori | title=Netanyahu tosses Hamas policy paper on Israel into waste bin | website=Reuters | date=2017-05-07 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-hamas-netanyahu/netanyahu-tosses-hamas-policy-paper-on-israel-into-waste-bin-idUSKBN1830YX/}}</ref> However, Netanyahu's attitude towards Hamas was somewhat different behind closed doors...

===Israeli support for Hamas===
[[File:Hamas rocket barrage, 2021.jpg|thumb|right|375px|Hamas launches explosive rockets from Gaza City, 2021.]]
{{cquote|Anyone who wants to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state needs to support strengthening Hamas.|||Benjamin Netanyahu at a Likud conference, 2019.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ronzheimer | first=Paul | last2=Chiappa | first2=Claudia | title=Netanyahu: Don’t accuse me of boosting Hamas with Qatari money | website=POLITICO | date=2023-11-28 | url=https://archive.ph/UPmEj}}</ref>}}
In 2018, Israel scored one of the biggest intelligence breakthroughs in its history by raiding the computer of a senior Hamas official; they discovered almost all of Hamas' assets (roughly $500 million) along with the foreign businesses that Hamas was using to finance its operations.<ref name="hamasledg">{{cite web | last=Becker | first=Jo | last2=Scheck | first2=Justin | title=Israel Knew Hamas’s Money Source Years Before Oct. 7 Attacks | website=The New York Times | date=2023-12-16 | url=https://archive.ph/rOfvA}}</ref> Had Israel wanted to, it could have financially crippled Hamas. Instead, Israel did nothing.<ref name="hamasledg"/> For years.

You see, Israeli strategy towards Hamas had changed quite radically in the years before this. The Netanyahu government found an unlikely source of agreement with Hamas: neither side wanted to see the emergence of an independent Palestinian state or an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hamas tightens grip on Gaza, fails to break Israel blockade | website=AP News | date=2019-04-01 | url=https://apnews.com/article/7048a88cfb16432cbe592b1e23158448}}</ref> Hamas was furthermore a convenient boogeyman for the Israeli government to point to.<ref name="boogeyman">{{cite web | last=Krauss | first=Joseph | last2=Akram | first2=Fares | title=Defiant in war and isolation, Hamas plays long game in Gaza | website=AP News | date=2021-12-20 | url=https://apnews.com/article/business-africa-israel-egypt-global-trade-963d986afa7ebb229e18e6825dbf3607}}</ref> After all, Israeli politicians never failed to note, how could the international community expect the creation of a Palestinian state when a large chunk of it was controlled by a terrorist group? 

Imports from [[Egypt]] to Gaza increased significantly from 2020 to 2021, and Israel allowed Hamas to tax those imports, all despite the presence of an Israeli blockade.<ref name="boogeyman"/> The Netanyahu government also knew about and tolerated billions of dollars sent to Gaza from [[Qatar]], a gamble by Netanyahu that a steady flow of money would keep Hamas content and focused on governing the territory.<ref name="buyquiet">{{cite web | last=Mazzetti | first=Mark | last2=Bergman | first2=Ronen | title=How Israel Secretly Propped Up Hamas | website=The New York Times | date=2023-12-10 | url=https://archive.ph/8jiYe}}</ref> This practice was disparaged by Netanyahu's opponents as "buying quiet."<ref name="buyquiet"/> 

The most egregious part of the story was still to come. Over a year before the October 7th attacks, Israeli intelligence discovered a 40-page document describing step-by-step Hamas' attack plans and further revealing that Hamas had scarily accurate information about Israeli defenses near Gaza.<ref name="jerichowall">{{cite web | last=Bergman | first=Ronen | last2=Goldman | first2=Adam | title=Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan Over a Year Ago | website=The New York Times | date=2023-12-01 | url=https://archive.ph/zMqH1}}</ref> Nothing happened. The Israeli government decided that the Hamas attack plan was unrealistic and not worth further investigation.<ref name="jerichowall"/> Qatari payments to Hamas continued unabated after the discovery of this document.<ref name="hamasledg"/>

===October 7th attacks===
[[File:Photo of Liel Vainshtein who was murdered at the Nova Music Festival on 7 October 2023.jpg|thumb|right|395px|A memorial for victims at the site of the Nova Music Festival.]]
The terrorist attacks of October 7th, 2023 began with a volley of thousands of rockets launched from Gaza.<ref>{{cite web | last=McKernan | first=Bethan | title=Israel and Hamas at war after surprise attacks from Gaza Strip | website=the Guardian | date=2023-10-07 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/07/hamas-launches-surprise-attack-on-israel-as-palestinian-gunmen-reported-in-south}}</ref> Backed by the rocket barrage, Hamas militants broke out of the Gaza Strip and invaded nearby Israeli communities to mass murder and abduct Israeli civilians.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hundreds dead as war erupts after surprise Hamas attack catches Israel off guard | website=CBC | date=2023-10-08 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-israel-rockets-attack-hamas-1.6990209}}</ref> The Hamas incursions primarily took place through breaches in Israel's border defenses, but other Hamas fighters used motorboats and parachutes to cross into Israel.<ref>{{cite web | last=Williams | first=Dan | title=How the Hamas attack on Israel unfolded | website=Reuters | date=2023-10-07 | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-hamas-attack-israel-unfolded-2023-10-07/}}</ref> A later probe by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] determined that Hamas had launched an estimated 4,300 rockets and sent about 6,000 Gazans into Israel to slaughter civilians.<ref>{{cite web | title=Probe reveals 6,000 Gazans infiltrated Israel during October 7 massacre | website= The Jerusalem Post | date=2024-08-31 | url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-817176}}</ref> 

In one instance, Hamas attacked a nearby Israeli music festival and opened fire on a crowd of 1,300 people, killing at least 260.<ref>{{cite web | last=Debre | first=Isabel | last2=Biesecker | first2=Michael | title=Israeli survivors recount terror at music festival, where Hamas militants killed at least 260 | website=AP News | date=2023-10-09 | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-music-festival-6a55aae2375944f10ecc4c52d05f2ffe}}</ref> Hamas fighters kidnapped Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli woman, from the festival before [[Torture|torturing]] her, parading her around Gaza, and then executing her.<ref>{{cite web | last=Picheta | first=Robert | title=Shani Louk, 23-year-old kidnapped from music festival, found dead, Israel says | website=CNN | date=2023-10-30 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/30/middleeast/shani-louk-dead-israel-intl/index.html}}</ref>

A 2024 investigation by the [[Human Rights Watch]] confirmed that Hamas had committed a litany of [[war crimes]] during the attack, including deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians; willful killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; crimes relating to sexual and gender-based violence; hostage-taking; mutilation and despoiling of bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting.<ref>{{cite web | title=Questions and Answers: The Hamas-Led Armed Groups' October 7, 2023 Assault on Israel | website=Human Rights Watch | date=2024-07-17 | url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/questions-and-answers-hamas-led-armed-groups-october-7-2023-assault-israel}}</ref> [[United Nations]] special representative Pramila Patton announced in a 2024 report that she had found "clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including [[rape]], sexualised torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages," and said that she had been privy to scenes of "unspeakable violence perpetrated with shocking brutality."<ref>{{cite web | last=Weiniger | first=Gabrielle | title=Hamas committed ‘unspeakably violent’ rape and torture, UN believes | website=The Times & The Sunday Times | date=2024-03-11 | url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/israel-hamas-war-rape-sexual-violence-women-jewish-palestinian-kgsw0s95r?region=global}}</ref>

The final death toll from the October 7th attack was assessed at about 1,200, making this the third-deadliest terrorist attack in modern history.<ref>{{cite web | last=Byman | first=Daniel | last2=McCabe | first2=Riley | last3=Palmer | first3=Alexander | last4=Doxsee | first4=Catrina | last5=Holtz | first5=Mackenzie | last6=Duff | first6=Delaney | title=Hamas’s October 7 Attack: Visualizing the Data | website=CSIS | date=2024-10-11 | url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/hamass-october-7-attack-visualizing-data}}</ref> Hamas also abducted over 240 Israelis, including children, to use as hostages.<ref>{{cite web | last=Vinograd | first=Cassandra | last2=Kershner | first2=Isabel | title=What to Know About the Hostages Taken by Hamas and Others | website=The New York Times | date=2023-11-20 | url=https://archive.ph/dOjbi}}</ref>

In the aftermath, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh disgustingly celebrated the terrorist group's bloody attack as "a rendezvous with a great victory and a dazzling triumph."<ref>{{cite web | last=Tisdall | first=Simon | title=Angry old men set the Middle East ablaze. The young will pay the price | website=the Guardian | date=2023-10-14 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/14/angry-old-men-set-the-middle-east-ablaze-the-young-will-pay-the-price-israel-gaza}}</ref> The leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said that the attack was in retaliation for Israel's prolonged blockade of the Gaza Strip, ongoing settlement construction, and for violence between Israel and Hamas that took place throughout 2023.<ref name="arabnews">{{cite web | title=Hamas leader Haniyeh: Battle ‘will spread to West Bank, Jerusalem’ | website=Arab News | date=2023-10-08 | url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2387276/middle-east}}</ref>

===The war that Hamas had always wanted===
[[File:SoI-War 23-11-01 IDF 13-08.jpg|thumb|right|435px|IDF soldiers during ground operations in Gaza, November 2023.]]
Hamas chose to launch its attack at a time when it was feeling the most desperate. For most of [[Joe Biden]]'s presidency, one of his overriding goals was to establish diplomatic normalization between Israel and [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="saudnorm">{{cite web | last=Fantappie | first=Maria | last2=Nasr | first2=Vali | title=The Dangerous Push for Israeli-Saudi Normalization | website=Foreign Affairs | date=2024-07-11 | url=https://archive.ph/WlaSI}}</ref> In 2023, this deal appeared closer to materializing thanks to Biden's willingness to agree to security guarantees for Saudi Arabia.<ref name="saudnorm"/> [[Iran]], its proxy [[Hezbollah]], and Hamas were all horrified by the prospect of further reduced diplomatic backing for the Palestinian cause and the potential for one of the Middle East's regional powers to outright align itself with Israel.<ref name="hamaswant">{{cite web | last=Levitt | first=Matthew | title=The War Hamas Always Wanted | website=Foreign Affairs | date=2023-10-11 | url=https://archive.ph/5U1mE}}</ref> Hamas' assault on Israel served its purpose in detonating the Israel-Saudi negotiations, as Saudi Arabia was appalled at the Israeli response.<ref name="saudnorm"/>

On October 9th, Israel implemented an absolute siege of the Gaza Strip by cutting the territory off from water, food, and fuel.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hall | first=Natasha | last2=Kirschenbaum | first2=Anita | last3=Michel | first3=David | title=The Siege of Gaza’s Water | website=CSIS | date=2024-10-14 | url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/siege-gazas-water}}</ref> Israel's indiscriminate bombings across the entire Gaza Strip leveled countless buildings and amounted to war crimes.<ref>{{cite web | title=Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza | website=Amnesty International | date=2023-10-20 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/}}</ref> By December, the [[United Nations]] said that 70% of school buildings in Gaza had been attacked despite schools being used to shelter civilians.<ref>{{cite web | last=Jobain | first=Najib | last2=Magdy | first2=Samy | last3=Jeffery | first3=Jack | last4=Press | first4=Associated | title=Israel's military campaign in Gaza is among the most destructive in history, experts say | website=PBS News | date=2023-12-21 | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israels-military-campaign-in-gaza-is-among-the-most-destructive-in-history-experts-say}}</ref> After three weeks of bombings, Israel launched a full-scale invasion of the northern Gaza Strip<ref>{{cite web | last=McClure | first=Jon | last2=Scarr | first2=Simon | last3=Arranz | first3=Adolfo | last4=Huang | first4=Han | last5=Bhandari | first5=Aditi | last6=Zafra | first6=Mariano | last7=Trainor | first7=Clare | title=Mapping the conflict in Israel and Gaza | website=Reuters | date=2023-10-09 | url=https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/MAPS/movajdladpa/#mapping-israels-ground-invasion-of-gaza}}</ref> while forcing Gazan civilians out of their homes and packing them into the increasingly crowded south.<ref>{{cite web | title=Israel expands offensive in northern Gaza with new ground operation, says civilians won't be allowed back | website=CBS News | date=2024-11-07 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-offensive-beit-lahiya-idf-says-civilians-not-allowed-back/}}</ref> Israel then bombed the southern Gaza Strip, killing numerous Gazan refugees who had evacuated there on Israel's orders.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sherlock | first=Ruth | title=Israel told Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza — and then stepped up attacks there | website=NPR | date=2023-11-17 | url=https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213579692/israel-gaza-evacuation-south-attacks}}</ref>

This carnage was the war that Hamas had always wanted, and for which it had prepared for years.<ref name="hamaswant"/> At the outset of hostilities, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh declared that, "This is the ultimate [[jihad]], the outcome of which can only be victory or martyrdom."<ref>{{cite web | title=Haniyeh outlines context and objectives of Hamas Operation Al-Aqsa Flood | website=Middle East Monitor | date=2023-10-09 | url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231009-haniyeh-outlines-context-and-objectives-of-hamas-operation-al-aqsa-flood/}}</ref>

In many ways, Hamas got what it hoped for from the war. The terrorist group regained its credibility as an effective "resistance" movement, and its popularity among Gazans rebounded in December after sinking for years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Mann | first=Brian | title=As Israel fights to destroy Hamas, the group's popularity surges among Palestinians | website=NPR | date=2023-12-21 | url=https://www.npr.org/2023/12/21/1217758546/hamas-support-palestinians-west-bank}}</ref> Hamas had also launched its attack with the intent of drawing in Iran and Hezbollah.<ref>{{cite web | last=Warrick | first=Joby | last2=Mekhennet | first2=Souad | last3=Morris | first3=Loveday | title=Captured documents reveal Hamas’s broader ambition to wreak havoc on Israel | website=Washington Post | date=2024-10-12 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/12/exclusive-hamas-documents-sinwar-planning-iran/}}</ref> Israel indeed engaged in armed conflicts with both.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lidman | first=Melanie | last2=Chehayeb | first2=Kareem | title=What to know about Israel's ground invasion in southern Lebanon | website=AP News | date=2024-10-01 | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Bennett | first=Tom | title=What we know about Israel’s attack on Iran | website=BBC Home | date=2024-10-26 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr0yvrx4qpo}}</ref> Israel's atrocities also left it increasingly diplomatically isolated on the world stage.<ref>{{cite web | last=Wintour | first=Patrick | title=Israel was told ‘you are not alone’ – but year of war has left it isolated | website=the Guardian | date=2024-10-04 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/oct/04/israel-told-not-alone-but-year-war-isolated}}</ref> 

On the other hand, Hamas' success was paid for with numerous lives. Hamas lost somewhere between 6,000 and 13,000 fighters, a large portion of its estimated pre-war strength.<ref>{{cite web | title=A War They Both Are Losing: Israel, Hamas and the Plight of Gaza | website=IISS | date=2024-06-03 | url=https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/survival-online/2024/06/a-war-they-both-are-losing-israel-hamas-and-the-plight-of-gaza/ }}</ref> Civilian deaths in Gaza totaled over 46,600 people,<ref>{{cite web | last=Emma Farge | first=Nidal Al-Mughrabi | title=Gaza death toll: how many Palestinians has Israel's offensive killed? | website=Reuters | date=2025-01-15 | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-many-palestinians-has-israels-gaza-offensive-killed-2025-01-15/}}</ref> and about 60% of all buildings in Gaza, including 90% of homes, had been destroyed by bombing.<ref>{{cite web | title=Gaza Strip in maps: How 15 months of war have drastically changed life in the territory | website=BBC News | date=2012-11-22 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20415675}}</ref> Israel also assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,<ref>{{cite web | last=Aikman | first=Ian | title=Ismail Haniyeh: Israel confirms it killed Hamas leader in Tehran | website=BBC Home | date=2024-12-23 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ewr870z23o}}</ref> then killed his replacement Yahya Sinwar,<ref>{{cite web | last=Baker | first=Graeme | title=How Israel killed enemy number one Yahya Sinwar | website=BBC Home | date=2024-10-17 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj9zzz8xm7o}}</ref> and then killed Hamas' military leader Mohammed Deif.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hamas military leader Mohammad Deif, an architect of the Oct. 7 attack, is confirmed killed by Israel | website=NBC News | date=2024-08-01 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hamas-military-chief-mohammed-deif-killed-air-strike-israel-gaza-rcna164633}}</ref>

A ceasefire deal was achieved in January 2025, stipulating that Hamas must release the remaining hostages while Israel releases some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.<ref>{{cite web | last=Berg | first=Raffi | title=What is the Gaza ceasefire deal and how many hostages and prisoners will be freed? | website=BBC Home | date=2025-01-14 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5klgv5zv0o}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Shurafa | first=Wafaa | last2=Hana | first2=Abdel Kareem | last3=Magdy | first3=Samy | title=Palestinians celebrate their return to northern Gaza after 15 months of war | website=AP News | date=2025-01-27 | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-01-27-2025-48a7eb98d6900cdf24b32ea93b5bc584}}</ref> Despite this, Israel has continued the genocide.

==Crimes against humanity==
===Torture and extra-judicial killings===
Hamas rules the Gaza Strip with an iron fist.<ref name="freedomhouse">{{cite web | title=Gaza Strip: Freedom in the World 2023 Country Report | website=Freedom House | url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/gaza-strip/freedom-world/2023}}</ref> In order to maintain its rule, the terrorist group has resorted to inflicting terror and brutality upon its own people. During the aftermath of the 2014 war with Israel, Hamas accused numerous perceived political opponents of collaboration with Israel, using that as justification to have dozens of people rounded up for [[torture]] and summary execution.<ref>{{cite web | title=Gaza: Hamas killed and tortured, says Amnesty | website=BBC News | date=2015-05-27 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32894633}}</ref> In the words of [[Amnesty International]], the situation amounted to, "Hamas taking advantage of the situation and either settling scores or exacting revenge on its opponents."<ref>{{cite web | title=Gaza conflict: Hamas committed human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians, Amnesty says | website=ABC News | date=2015-05-28 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-28/amnesty-international-hamas-committed-war-crimes-against-gaza/6503326}}</ref> 

This record of savagery goes back even further. During Hamas' conflict with Fatah in 2009, the terrorist group used schools as makeshift detention centers to torture suspected Fatah members, using methods like blinding and shooting the victims' legs.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kalman | first=Matthew | title=Hamas executes suspected Fatah traitors in Gaza | website=SFGATE | date=2009-01-22 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/hamas-executes-suspected-fatah-traitors-in-gaza-3175208.php}}</ref> In 2012, Hamas publicly executed six suspected Israel-collaborators before tying the sixth corpse to a motorcycle and dragging it through the streets of Gaza City.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hamas militants kill 6 suspected informers, witnesses say | website=CBC | date=2012-11-20 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hamas-militants-kill-6-suspected-informers-witnesses-say-1.1172426}}</ref>

A 2022 report by the [[Human Rights Watch]] unveiled Hamas' continuing inhumane treatment of detainees, including prolonged death threats, solitary confinement, arbitrary beatings and whippings, use of stress positions, and binding with metal cables.<ref>{{cite web | title=Palestine: Impunity for Arbitrary Arrests, Torture | website=Human Rights Watch | date=2022-06-30 | url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/30/palestine-impunity-arbitrary-arrests-torture}}</ref>

===Deliberate attacks on civilians===
[[File:A rocket fired from a civilian area in Gaza towards civilian areas in Southern Israel.jpg|thumb|right|375px|A rocket fired from a civilian area in Gaza, 2008.]]
{{cquote|The devastating impact of Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians during the conflict is undeniable, but violations by one side in a conflict can never justify violations by their opponents.|||Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, March 2015.<ref name="luther">{{cite web | title=Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes | website=Amnesty International | date=2015-03-26 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/03/palestinian-armed-groups-killed-civilians-on-both-sides-in-2014-gaza-conflict/}}</ref>}}
Hamas has committed numerous suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, and Human Rights Watch demanded in 2002 that Hamas leaders "be held accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity."<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/isrl-pa/ISRAELPA1002-05.htm#P735_169095 Structures and Strategies of the Perpetrator Organizations]. "Erased In A Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians," ''Human Rights Watch,'' October 2002.</ref> Hamas has also fired countless tens of thousands of unguided explosive rockets into Israel in a deliberate attempt to inflict civilian casualties, with some landing inside Gaza and killing Palestinian civilians.<ref name="luther"/> During a period of armed conflict with Israel in 2021, Hamas fired about 4,360 unguided rockets and mortars into Israel, a series of attacks that Human Rights Watch described as war crimes.<ref>{{cite web | title=Palestinian Rockets in May Killed Civilians in Israel, Gaza | website=Human Rights Watch | date=2021-08-12 | url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/12/palestinian-rockets-may-killed-civilians-israel-gaza}}</ref>

Rockets fired from Gaza have also been launched from residential areas. Amnesty International condemned Hamas for launching rockets from schools, mosques, a Greek Orthodox church, multiple refugee shelters, and at least one hospital during the 2014 war with Israel.<ref>{{cite web | last=Booth | first=William | title=Amnesty International says Hamas committed war crimes, too | website=Washington Post | date=2015-03-26 | url=https://archive.ph/GVD1G}}</ref> 

Hamas war crimes reached their peak during the October 7th attacks. Amnesty International verified numerous videos showing Hamas militants gunning down civilians, dragging away hostages, and parading the body of a murdered woman through Gaza.<ref>{{cite web | title=Israel: Palestinian armed groups must be held accountable for deliberate civilian killings, abductions and indiscriminate attacks | website=Amnesty International | date=2023-10-12 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/israel-palestinian-armed-groups-must-be-held-accountable-for-deliberate-civilian-killings-abductions-and-indiscriminate-attacks/}}</ref> As described by the Human Rights Watch, "The killing of civilians and taking of hostages were all central aims of the planned attack."<ref>{{cite web | last=Hassan | first=Yasmine | title=Human Rights Watch report accuses Hamas, other militant groups of war crimes on Oct. 7 | website=CBC | date=2024-07-17 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hamas-human-rights-watch-report-1.7266736}}</ref>

===Sexual violence===
{{cquote|At least a year in advance, Hamas mapped and planned the attack with painstaking detail. They also carried out an intense daylong exercise that mimicked the actual Oct. 7 attack. Given this level of planning and Hamas' previous lack of using sexual violence, it is highly unlikely that Hamas' sexual violence committed against Israelis was the result of some men who went rogue. More likely, sexual violence was part of Hamas' war tactics and strategy.|||Dyan Mazurana and Anastasia Marshak of {{wpl|Tufts University|}}, writing for ''The Conversation'' on 11 December, 2023.<ref>{{cite web | last=Marshak | first=Anastasia | last2=Mazurana | first2=Dyan | title=Hamas’ use of sexual violence is an all-too-common part of modern war − but not in all conflicts | website=The Conversation | date=2023-10-07 | url=https://theconversation.com/hamas-use-of-sexual-violence-is-an-all-too-common-part-of-modern-war-but-not-in-all-conflicts-219301}}</ref>}}
 
While several debunked accounts of sexual violence from October 7th were used to deny all evidence of further claims,<ref>{{cite web | last=Goldenberg | first=Tia | last2=Frankel | first2=Julia | title=How 2 debunked accounts of sexual violence on Oct. 7 fueled a global dispute over Israel-Hamas war | website=AP News | date=2024-05-22 | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-sexual-violence-zaka-ca7905bf9520b1e646f86d72cdf03244}}</ref> evidence that Hamas systematically carried out acts of rape and gang-rape during the massive terrorist attack is abundant.<ref>{{cite web | last=Chotiner | first=Isaac | title=How Hamas Used Sexual Violence on October 7th | website=The New Yorker | date=2023-12-10 | url=https://archive.ph/KmSZn}}</ref> A report from United Nations special envoy Pramila Patten found "clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" had taken place during October 7th and against hostages taken by Hamas.<ref>{{cite web | last=Borger | first=Julian | title=UN finds ‘convincing information’ that Hamas raped and tortured Israeli hostages | website=the Guardian | date=2024-03-04 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/04/un-envoy-reports-on-accounts-of-hamas-raping-and-torturing-israeli-hostages}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Schecter | first=Anna | title=U.N. finds 'clear and convincing' information that hostages have been raped in Gaza | website=NBC News | date=2024-03-05 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/un-finds-clear-convincing-information-hostages-raped-gaza-rcna141789}}</ref>

==Governance of the Gaza Strip==
[[File:Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023 - 13.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Civilians salvage what they can from ruins in Gaza City, October 2023. The fruits of Hamas' rule.]]
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since its takeover in 2007, and its rule has unsurprisingly been relentlessly [[authoritarian]]. There have been no elections for any office in the Gaza Strip since 2007, women are excluded from public life, and Hamas routinely arrests and tortures journalists in Gaza.<ref name="freedomhouse"/> Sunni Islam is the state religion of the Gaza Strip; [[blasphemy]] is a criminal offense and Hamas exercises political control over mosques.<ref name="freedomhouse"/> Critics both abroad and local Palestinian critics have compared Hamas to the [[Taliban]], denouncing what they call the "Talibanization of Gaza".<ref>''The Hamas Enterprise and the Talibanization of Gaza'', by Khaled Al-Hroub, Al-Ayyam (Palestinian Authority), October 11, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101024183415/http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4696.htm Translation] by the Middle East Research Institute, October 22, 2010.</ref>

Freedom of assembly is also not respected. When protesters took to the streets against the rising cost of living and deteriorating conditions in March 2019, Hamas launched a crackdown and subjected hundreds of protesters to beatings and torture.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hamas must end brutal crackdown against protesters in Gaza | website=Amnesty International | date=2019-03-18 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2019/03/gaza-hamas-must-end-brutal-crackdown-against-protesters-and-rights-defenders/}}</ref> In January 2023, Hamas disrupted student groups for violating rules on gender segregation before forcing everyone to sign "morality pledges".<ref>{{cite web | title=Human rights in Palestine (State of) | website=Amnesty International | date=2024-03-29 | url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/middle-east/palestine-state-of/report-palestine-state-of/}}</ref> 

On a related note, women's rights are not respected in the Gaza Strip. Honor killings are tolerated, and Hamas interprets an article in the Palestinian legal code as an effective license to kill women with impunity.<ref name="gazawomen">{{cite web | last=Baroud | first=Huda | last2=Mahmoud | first2=Rima | title=No Justice for Women Killed in Gaza | website=zenith.me | date=2021-03-04 | url=https://magazine.zenith.me/en/society/femicide-palestine}}</ref> Justifications for honor killings include women meeting strangers in person or even simply having contact with them online; Gaza authorities frequently cover up honor killings by listing causes of death as accidents or "mysterious circumstances".<ref name="gazawomen"/> For [[LGBT]] Gazans, "passing" is a matter of survival, as [[homosexuality]] is illegal and punishable by torture or death.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lemant | first=Mark | title=Pride and Prejudice: The Hellish Life of Gaza’s LGBTQ Community | website=Haaretz.com | date=2019-06-25 | url=https://archive.ph/2CPE3}}</ref> 

The Hamas regime has also shown extreme callousness toward the lives of the Gazan population. While Hamas fires rockets from near civilian areas, it has also not built bomb shelters or used its tunnel network to shield civilians.<ref name="time">{{cite web | last=Hofnung | first=Tamar | title=When Anticolonialism Masks Authoritarianism | website=TIME | date=2024-01-30 | url=https://time.com/6588330/hamas-history-anticolonial-authoritarian/}}</ref> Hamas' shoddily-built unguided rockets can also misfire and hit civilians in Gaza; in November 2023, a misfired Hamas rocket hit the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza and killed as many as 471 people.<ref>{{cite web | title=Human Rights Watch says rocket misfire likely cause of deadly Gaza hospital blast | website=Reuters | date=2023-11-26 | url=https://archive.ph/y5TRe}}</ref> Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, admitted in an interview with ''[[The Economist]]'' that Hamas didn't care about how many Gazans die in its wars with Israel because, "Dignity is more valuable than life. The homeland is more important, more than life."<ref name="time"/>

== Foreign relations ==
[[File:International views on Hamas.svg|thumb|right|450px|Countries that designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.{{legend|#FF0000|In its entirety}}
{{legend|#FFA500|Military wing only}}]]
===Terrorist designation===
Numerous countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in response to its heinous crimes against Israel. The United States did so on three separate occasions, twice by the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration, and then again by [[George W. Bush]] upon his administration's creation of the special global terrorism list.<ref>{{cite web | last=Gradstein | first=Linda | title=Explainer: How Hamas Ended Up on US List of Terrorist Groups | website=Voice of America | date=2024-02-07 | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/explainer-how-hamas-ended-up-on-us-list-of-terrorist-groups/7478227.html}}</ref> [[Canada]] followed suit shortly thereafter in 2002.<ref>Public Safety Canada: Listed Terrorist Entities - [https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx#25 Hamas (Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya) (Islamic Resistance Movement)].</ref> When the [[European Union]] announced its designation in 2003, Hamas challenged the decision in court, but the terrorist designation was upheld in 2017.<ref>{{cite web | title=EU court keeps Hamas on terrorism list, removes Tamil Tigers | website=Reuters | date=2017-07-26 | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-palestinians-hamas-idUSKBN1AB0VE/}}</ref> After Hamas increased its rocket attacks on Israel in 2021, the {{wpl|Organization of American States|}} also designated Hamas a terrorist organization.<ref>[https://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-051/21 Press Release: Qualification of Hamas as a Terrorist Organization by the OAS General Secretariat]. Organization of American States.   May 17, 2021. Reference: E-051/21.</ref> More recently, [[Argentina]] designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2024 due to the October 7th attacks and as a "fuck you" to [[Iran]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Argentina designates Hamas a terrorist group in show of support for Israel | website=AP News | date=2024-07-13 | url=https://apnews.com/article/argentina-terrorism-hamas-israel-palestinians-milei-2806ce6633de66dcebf2a10486dff81d}}</ref> which Argentina blames for facilitating the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentinian history in 1994.<ref>{{cite web | last=Rey | first=Débora | last2=Debre | first2=Isabel | title=Argentine court blames Iran and Hezbollah for deadly 1994 Jewish center bombing | website=AP News | date=2024-04-12 | url=https://apnews.com/article/argentina-1994-jewish-center-bombing-iran-investigation-36b4f9cbe20900d39d8f28477589a444}}</ref> 

Although [[Jordan]] does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization, it did expel Hamas from the country in 1999 and still refuses to consider allowing them back in.<ref>{{cite web | last=Horovitz | first=Michael | last2=Fabian | first2=Emanuel | last3=Sharon | first3=Jeremy | last4=Fabian | first4=Emanuel | title=Jordan flatly rejects senior Hamas official’s idea of moving leadership to kingdom | website=The Times of Israel | date=2024-04-30 | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-flatly-rejects-senior-hamas-officials-idea-of-moving-leadership-to-kingdom/}}</ref>

===Iran and Hezbollah===
Iran has been a longtime sponsor of Hamas, and the US State Department estimated in 2021 that the funding, weapons, and training provided by Iran amounted to about $100 million per year.<ref>{{cite web | last=Ebrahim | first=Nadeen | title=Hamas and Iran are longtime allies. Did Tehran help with its attack on Israel? | website=CNN | date=2023-10-09 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/middleeast/hamas-iran-israel-attack-analysis-intl/index.html}}</ref> Despite their common enmity with Israel, Hamas and Iran haven't always seen eye-to-eye. During the [[Syrian Civil War]], they had a falling-out because Hamas refused to support [[Bashar al-Assad]] alongside Iran and [[Hezbollah]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Sherwood | first=Harriet | title=Hamas and Iran rebuild ties three years after falling out over Syria | website=the Guardian | date=2014-01-09 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/hamas-iran-rebuild-ties-falling-out-syria}}</ref>

While Hamas is a core part of Iran's so-called "[[Axis|axis]] of resistance,"<ref>{{cite web | last=Al-Kassab | first=Fatima | title=What is the 'axis of resistance' of Iran-backed groups in the Middle East? | website=NPR | date=2023-10-26 | url=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/26/1208456496/iran-hamas-axis-of-resistance-hezbollah-israel}}</ref> Iran did not participate in Hamas's "ultimate jihad." Its participation in the conflict was limited to a barrage of missiles that caused little damage to Israel,<ref>{{cite web | last=Gritten | first=David | last2=Jackson | first2=Matt Murphy & Patrick | title=What we know about Iran's latest missile attack on Israel | website=BBC Home | date=2024-10-01 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70w1j0l488o}}</ref> and that was primarily in retaliation for Israel infiltrating Iran's capital city to assassinate the leader of Hamas.<ref>{{cite web | last=Abualouf | first=Rushdi | title=Iran vows revenge after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed | website=BBC Home | date=2024-07-31 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6p2ydk7er1o}}</ref> In reality, Iran wanted nothing to do with Hamas' war against Israel, or indeed any war with Israel.<ref name="irannowar">{{cite web | last=Reisinezhad | first=Arash | title=The 7 Reasons Iran Won’t Fight for Hamas | website=Foreign Policy | date=2023-12-04 | url=https://archive.ph/NpnlG}}</ref> With a divided government and society, Arab adversaries hoping for Iran to be distracted, and a general sense of caution towards the [[United States]], Iran's leadership understood that outright war with Israel made no sense.<ref name="irannowar"/>

Another major ally for Hamas was [[Hezbollah]] a fellow member of Iran's "axis of resistance" based out of [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Flexible Resistance: How Hezbollah and Hamas Are Mending Ties | website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | date=2018-07-11 | url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2018/07/flexible-resistance-how-hezbollah-and-hamas-are-mending-ties?lang=en&center=middle-east}}</ref> However, Hamas' hopes of drawing Hezbollah into its war with Israel fell rather short, due to Hezbollah's initially limited involvement and then its utter defeat by Israel in late 2024.<ref>{{cite web | last=Barnes | first=Julian E. | last2=Rasgon | first2=Adam | last3=Boxerman | first3=Aaron | last4=Bergman | first4=Ronen | title=Hamas Faces a Future Without Its Most Important Ally | website=The New York Times | date=2024-11-28 | url=https://archive.ph/RFAta}}</ref> 

===Qatar (and the luxurious lives of Hamas leaders)===
The government of [[Qatar]] has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas in payments which were, we must remind everyone, tolerated by the Netanyahu government.<ref name="buyquiet"/> By 2024, Qatar was Hamas' largest financial supporter.<ref>{{cite web | last=Karnitschnig | first=Matthew | title=On Hamas, what did Qatar know and when did it know it? | website=POLITICO | date=2024-01-11 | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/west-search-truth-qatar-israel-hamas-war/}}</ref> 

It also did not escape notice that Hamas's three top leaders (Abu Marzouk, Khaled Mashaal, and Ismail Haniyeh) all lived in luxury hotels in Qatar's capital while the people of Gaza suffered unlivable poverty.<ref name="luxury">{{cite web | last=Prann | first=Elizabeth | last2=Sinha | first2=Urja | last3=Elizabeth Prann | first3=Urja Sinha | title=Hamas leaders worth billions live in luxury as Gazans suffer | website=NewsNation | date=2023-11-09 | url=https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/war-in-israel/hamas-leaders-worth-billions/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Dyer | first=Evan | title=How tiny Qatar hosts the leaders of Hamas without consequences | website=CBC | date=2023-10-19 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/qatar-hamas-israel-1.6999416}}</ref> The US Treasury confirmed that the three men had an estimated net worth of about $11 ''billion''.<ref name="luxury"/> 

In November 2024, Qatar agreed to eject Hamas from the country following a request from the [[Joe Biden|Biden]] administration.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lee | first=MJ | last2=Atwood | first2=Kylie | last3=Hansler | first3=Jennifer | last4=Marquardt | first4=Alex | title=Qatar agrees to kick Hamas out of Doha following US request, sources say | website=CNN | date=2024-11-08 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/08/politics/qatar-hamas-doha-us-request/index.html}}</ref> Hamas' leaders—the ones still alive, that is—left Qatar's capital shortly after.<ref>{{cite web | last=Gritten | first=David | title=Hamas leaders no longer in Doha but office not closed, Qatar says | website=BBC Home | date=2024-11-19 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86qd99nqgyo}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Muslim Brotherhood]]
*[[Friends of Hamas]]
*[[Hezbollah]]
*[[Fun:List of things that are affiliated with Hamas (According to Israel)]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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