Palestinian Islamist political and paramilitary organization; de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip
Hamas
Editorial visualPalestinian Islamist political and paramilitary organization; de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip
Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) is a Sunni Islamist Palestinian organization founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. It has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and the EU.
Hamas (Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, "Islamic Resistance Movement") was founded on 10 December 1987 in Gaza, at the start of the First Intifada, as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its founders included Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The movement combines a political wing, a social-welfare network and an armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and seized full control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after clashes with Fatah. It is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, the UK and others; some states designate only its military wing.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas led an attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took some 250 hostages, triggering the Gaza war. A US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release framework took hold in October 2025; Hamas disarmament and Gaza's governance remain disputed. As of mid-2026, leadership runs through a temporary committee, with Khalil al-Hayya as acting political-bureau chief in Gaza.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence issued a sharp condemnation of the reported US-Iran memorandum of understanding, stating the terms 'reek of appeasement' and lack any requirement to dismantle Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programs. According to Abu Ali Express, Pence cited immediate sanctions relief of $3 billion per month, release of $100 billion in frozen assets, and a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran as details of the reported framework. The criticism follows a similar statement by Pence earlier today, as The Zioneer reported at 06:57.
4 sources· 4 developments· 11:50–11:02
The Zioneer Intelligence DeskInitially reportedUpdated12 minutes ago
Israel's ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said Wednesday that Israel knows Hamas activists are operating in Pakistan and Bangladesh and that they seek to replicate the October 7, 2023, massacres elsewhere in the world. The statement was reported by Israeli journalist Asaf Rozentzweig (N12).
A report by i24NEWS correspondent Baruch Yedid details how Qatari diplomat Ali al-Dhuwadi, 45, orchestrated the last-minute diplomatic breakthrough that prevented a third US strike on Iran. According to the report, al-Dhuwadi shuttled between Doha and Tehran four times in two weeks, culminating in a 20-hour negotiating session on June 11 that produced the framework for the US-Iran MOU. The report describes al-Dhuwadi as a shadowy, highly capable figure with strong ties to Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and with deep connections to Hamas leadership dating to the cash-suitcase era.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will convene an urgent discussion over what it describes as a suspected meeting between MK Mansour Abbas (Ra'am) and Hamas leadership abroad. The committee cited a suspicion of contact with a foreign agent. Abbas previously attended a conference alongside senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad figures, as The Zioneer reported on June 14.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, upon arriving at the G7 summit, sharply criticized Israel's conduct of the war in Lebanon, calling it a 'mini-war' and suggesting Israel is taking 'too long' against Hezbollah. 'If Israel can't do the job in Lebanon without killing everyone, maybe Syria should do it,' Trump said, according to reports. He also asserted that 'without the U.S., without me — there would be no Israel,' and urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to be 'more responsible' with Lebanon.
LebanonHezbollahDonald Trump
9 sources· 7 developments· 12:59–16:25
The Zioneer Intelligence DeskInitially reportedUpdated19 hours ago
The Israel Defense Forces said it killed two Hamas cell commanders in separate strikes in the central and northern Gaza Strip earlier on Monday. Saleh Ramadan Muhammad Khalifa, head of a cell in the Nuseirat Battalion, was killed in a strike in central Gaza. Muhammad Musa Diab al-Habil, head of a cell in the Western Jabalia Battalion, was killed in a separate strike in the north. The military described both as a threat to troops.
HamasGazaIDF
5 sources· 3 developments· 20:16–15:56
The Zioneer Intelligence DeskInitially reportedUpdated19 hours ago