Armed Conflict FAQ

What is Hamas?

Hamas is a radical Islamist terrorist organization. It is designated as a terrorist group and outlawed in Israel, the United States, the European Union, and Japan. Founded in the Gaza Strip in 1987, it emerged as an Islamist Palestinian movement, serving as an alternative to the secular Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its core faction, Fatah—the Palestinian National Liberation Movement led by Yasser Arafat. By the 1990s, the PLO had largely renounced the terrorist activities it heavily pursued in the 1970s and 1980s, choosing instead to engage in negotiations to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict politically based on the "two-state solution" framework. This process culminated in the Oslo Accords and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.

Driven by a radical ideology, Hamas chose a different path. The organization rejects any negotiations with the State of Israel, calls for its destruction, and advocates for the establishment of an Islamic republic in its place. In 2007, two years after the disengagement—Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip—Hamas seized military control of Gaza, killing and expelling its political rivals, Fatah.

Since the 1990s, Hamas has carried out thousands of terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, including mass suicide bombings in populated urban areas, and has launched tens of thousands of rockets into Israeli territory since the 2000s.

Since 2005, various terrorist attacks and rocket barrages have prompted varying degrees of military response from Israel, including ground operations in 2008, 2012, and 2014. Since 2014, Israel has countered acts of aggression primarily through airstrikes against terrorist infrastructure and targeted liquidations of Hamas operatives.

How do current events differ from previous escalations?

On October 7, Hamas terrorists launched a coordinated multi-pronged assault on Israel, breaching the border and perpetrating a mass slaughter in neighboring communities. The terrorists brutally murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians, sparing no one, including infants. Furthermore, they abducted and dragged over 200 hostages into the Gaza Strip, including children of all ages, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions. This represents an unprecedented onslaught against the civilian population of a sovereign nation, unparalleled in the history of Israel, and stands as a major national tragedy.

How could this have happened?

An official investigation will be conducted following the conclusion of the war. However, it is already clear that Israel and its security apparatus failed to anticipate such a highly coordinated assault by Hamas and were therefore unprepared to repel it.

How has Israel responded, and what lies ahead?

After clearing its territory of terrorists and securing the border, Israel launched intensive airstrikes targeting Hamas infrastructure. Simultaneously, security forces conducted several counterterrorism raids in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), neutralizing and arresting hundreds of Hamas operatives. Following a large-scale mobilization, the Israel Defense Forces are currently preparing for a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, aimed at completely dismantling the military and political capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist factions. A portion of the mobilized reserves has been deployed to Israel's northern border with Lebanon and Syria to prepare for potential confrontation with Iran's proxy, the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

Why is Israel facing condemnation?

Despite the military's efforts to minimize civilian casualties, Israel's military response inevitably results in significant destruction and, consequently, civilian deaths. Furthermore, Hamas has a well-documented, long-standing practice of deliberately placing its military infrastructure within densely populated urban areas. In the current conflict, the IDF, even at the expense of tactical advantage, urged the civilian population of Gaza City to evacuate the northern areas of the Strip and move south. Nevertheless, civilian casualties persist and will continue to occur.

Immediately following the barbaric attack on October 7, the international community, shocked by the footage of the atrocities, overwhelmingly supported Israel and its right to a robust military response. Over time, however, as images of destruction in the Gaza Strip emerged, the international media initiated a familiar campaign of diplomatic and public pressure on Israel.

Additionally, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel organizations worldwide are attempting to justify the actions of Hamas, framing them as fighters for liberation and Palestinian self-determination, while continuing their routine campaigns to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Nonetheless, leaders of prominent Western nations continue to fully support Israel’s decision to execute a ground operation to dismantle Hamas's operational capabilities, equating the group to ISIS and viewing it as a threat not only to Israel but to global security.