iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The re-conduct of the exam was announced following allegations of irregularities in NEET-UG, including paper leaks
KT APPDOWNLOAD
What is Hamas? Group that rules Gaza Strip has fought several rounds of war with Israel
The group has been responsible for many suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on civilians and Israeli soldiers
Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an attack inside Israel over the weekend, killing hundreds and taking others hostage. Its unprecedented breach of the border sent fighters inside border communities and military installations, shocked Israel and its allies, and raised questions about the group’s capabilities and strategy.
The group was founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian refugee living in Gaza, during the first intifada, or uprising, which was marked by widespread protests against Israel’s occupation.
Israelis inspect a damaged residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Photo: AP
Hamas is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, and a recognition of the group’s roots and early ties to one of the Sunni world’s most prominent groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in the 1920s.
The group has vowed to fight Israel and has been responsible for many suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on civilians and Israeli soldiers. The US State Department has designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organisation.
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP
Hamas won 2006 parliamentary elections elections and in 2007 violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority, dominated by rival Fatah movement, administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel responded to the Hamas takeover with a blockade on Gaza, restricting movement of people and goods in and out of the territory in a step it says is needed to keep the group from developing weapons. The blockade has ravaged Gaza's economy, and Palestinians accuse Israel of collective punishment.
A plume of smoke rises in the sky of Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP
Hamas founder and spiritual leader Yassin spent years in Israeli prisons and oversaw the establishment of Hamas' military wing, which carried out its first suicide attack in 1993.
Israeli forces have targeted Hamas leaders throughout the years, killing Yassin in 2004. Khaled Mashaal, an exiled Hamas member who survived an earlier Israeli assassination attempt, became the group’s leader soon after.
Yehia Sinwar, in Gaza, and Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in exile, are Hamas' current leaders. They realigned the group’s leadership with its allies, including Lebanon's Hezbollah. Since then, many of the group’s leaders relocated to Beirut.
Palestinians evacuate their homes after Israeli strikes on Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP
A Palestinian points to the Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was levelled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP
Hamas has always espoused violence as a means to liberate occupied Palestinian territories and has called for Israel's destruction.
Hamas has carried out suicide bombings and over the years fired tens of thousands of increasingly powerful rockets from Gaza into Israel. It also established a network of tunnels running from Gaza to Egypt to smuggle in weapons, as well as attack tunnels burrowing into Israel.
In recent years, Hamas had appeared to be more focused on running Gaza than attacking Israel.
Cars are burning after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot and a residential building in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: AP
Israelis take cover in a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: AP
Recently, Israel has made peace deals with Arab countries without having to make concessions in its conflict with the Palestinians. The US has recently been trying to broker a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Israel's new far-right government was working to cement Israeli settlements in the West Bank despite Palestinian opposition.
Hamas leaders say an Israeli crackdown on militants in the West Bank, continued construction of settlements — which the international community considers to be illegal — thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails, and its ongoing blockade of Gaza pushed it to attack.
Its leaders say hundreds of its 40,000 fighters took part in the assault. Israel says the group has about 30,000 fighters and an arsenal of rockets, including some with a range of about 250 kilometres (155 miles), and unmanned drones.
ALSO READ:
More news from World
The quake was at a depth of 93 km (57.79 miles)
The cases stem from the family's practice of bringing servants from their native India and included accusations of confiscating their passports
Hundreds of animals also perished in the blaze, local residents said
The wreck and its artefacts were discovered more than a mile deep on the bed of the Mediterranean Sea
Fatalities have also been confirmed by Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region
Conservatives on track to be left with just 53 seats in 650-member House of Commons, with the opposition Labour Party forecast to win 516
The country has allocated 70% of $100 million pledge to UN, humanitarian agencies in Sudan