Hamas
Palestinian 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.