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1 1 (December 14, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govenru0001 and id is 1 raw text is: December 14, 2023 Hamas: Background, Current Status, and U.S. Policy Hamas (or the Islamic Resistance Movement) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist military and sociopolitical movement, and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Hamas's primary base of action and support is in the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled since 2007. It also operates in the West Bank and Lebanon, and some Hamas leaders and personnel live and/or work in various Arab countries and Turkey. Hamas reportedly receives material assistance and training from Iran and some of its allies, including the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah (another FTO). From its inception, Hamas has overseen a social welfare network that appears to have aided its popularity among Palestinians while serving as a conduit for some funding for Hamas military operations. On October 7, 2023, Hamas led a surprise assault against Israel that killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including 35 Americans) and took around 240 persons hostage (including some Americans)-more than 100 of whom were released in November. The attack's scope and lethality was unprecedented for Hamas. The ensuing conflict, which has reportedly killed more than 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, has reshaped Middle Eastern dynamics, with implications for U.S. policy and Congress. A Hamas spokesperson has said the group is committed to repeating October 7-style attacks against Israel. ns, Ideology, reportedly masterminded the October 7 assault in Israel. He returned to Gaza from Israel in 2011 as part of a hostage- prisoner swap, after 22 years in prison for the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers and the killing of four Palestinians. Muhammad Deif and Marwan Issa apparently lead Hamas's military wing, the Izz al Din al Qassam Brigades, with a reported 25,000-40,000 fighters as of October 7. Israel claims it has since killed about 7,000 fighters, and that Sinwar, Deif, and Issa are priority targets. Timelhne of Key Events 1987-2005 Hamas emerges as main Palestinian rejectionist group (with support from Iran and private Arab sources) by engaging in violent attacks against Israelis; the United States begins subjecting Hamas to financial sanctions in 1995 and designates Hamas as an FTO in 1997. 2005 2006 Leadership An outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas emerged in 1987 in Gaza during the first Palestinian intifada (uprising). After the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) entered into a peace process with Israel that created the Palestinian Authority (PA) to exercise limited rule in the West Bank and Gaza, Hamas established itself as an alternative to the secular Fatah movement, which leads the PLO, by violently attacking Israeli civilian and military targets. Hamas's ideology combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Hamas's 1988 charter committed the group to the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine (comprising present-day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza), and included anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) rhetoric. Observers differ on the extent of Hamas's pragmatism. The group publicly released a 2017 document stating that Hamas's conflict is with the Zionist project rather than with Jews in general. It also expressed willingness to accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza if it results from national consensus, but said Hamas would not recognize Israel's legitimacy. Hamas's formal leadership structure consists of a 15- member politburo as the group's primary decision-making entity and a Shura Council that elects the politburo-with similar structures for the West Bank, Gaza, prisoners in Israel, and the diaspora. Ismail Haniyeh, a former PA prime minister based in Qatar, is chairman of the politburo. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza since 2017, 2007 After the second intifada (2000-2005), Israel unilaterally cedes responsibility for Gaza to the PA, but Israel (with Egypt) retains control over land/sea/air access. Hamas wins a majority in Palestinian Legislative Council election and leads new PA cabinet; Israel, United States, and European Union confine interactions and funding to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. West Bank-Gaza split: Hamas seizes control of Gaza Strip; Abbas reorganizes PA cabinet to lead West Bank; Israel and Egypt impose security- related restrictions on the transit of people and goods in and out of Gaza. 2008-2021 Rounds of major Israel-Hamas conflict in 2008- 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021 end with little or no change to status quo in Gaza; 201 I exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit returns more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners (including Sinwar). 2023 Hamas-led October 7 assault begins major ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Military Capabilities and External Support Hamas's military capabilities and tactics have steadily advanced in sophistication from the rudimentary guerrilla and suicide attacks it initially employed. The group uses a range of domestically produced and smuggled weaponry: rockets and mortars, drones, anti-tank guided missiles, man- portable air defense systems, and a variety of small arms. Most of its rockets-the main impetus for Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system-are only capable of targeting southern Israel, but some can strike Israel's main population centers farther north. Hamas has constructed an extensive system of tunnels within Gaza that it uses to Won I Resedrch Service t Ier~ I live hi a ~ 'e 914

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