Israeli airstrikes kill 44 Palestinians and more than a dozen children amid plans to raid 'last terrorist hideout'

The organization is a Palestinian militant movement that also serves as one of the two main political parties in the area, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) explains.

Over the years, Hamas has carried out shooting, bombing and rocket attacks in Israel.

Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza have fought multiple cross-border wars and had numerous skirmishes since the group took control of Gaza in 2007.

Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the US, the EU and the UK, as well as other powers.

“To its supporters, however, Hamas is seen as a legitimate resistance movement,” the report said BBC.

In 1997, the US designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The US State Department says: “Historically, Hamas has received funding, weapons and training from Iran and raised money in the Gulf states.

“The group receives donations from Palestinian expats and from its own charities.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.

The IDF said the group had fired more than 2,000 rockets from Gaza, while some militants entered the state by land, sea and air using paragliders.

We are on the eve of a great victory and a clear conquest on the Gaza front,” Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a broadcast on Hamas-led Al-Aqsa. television.

'Enough is enough, the cycle of intifadas [uprisings] and revolutions in the struggle to free our country and our prisoners languishing under the occupation [Israeli] prisons must be completed.”