Hamas (Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya) (Islamic Resistance Movement)

Hamas, an acronym for the name Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya, is a radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization that emerged from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1987. The group uses political and violent means to pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state in Israel, being responsible for terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets. In 2006, Hamas participated in and won Palestinian parliamentary elections, but in 2007 seized power in the Gaza Strip by overthrowing the Palestinian Authority, using the coastal territory as a base for terrorist operations. On October 7, 2023, Hamas, led by their armed wing, launched a coordinated assault on Israel from Gaza, including carrying out indiscriminate rocket attacks and crossing into Israel where they systematically and deliberately targeted civilians, killing, wounding or taking them hostage, including seven Canadians. Approximately 815 civilians were killed in the initial October 7 attack.