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              Congressional                                                     ____
       C' Research Service
 ~~ informmng the Iegislative debate since 1914




 Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After

 Surprise Attacks



 October   10, 2023

 Overview
 On October 7, 2023, Gaza Strip-based militants led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a
 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) engaged in a series of surprise attacks by land,
 sea, and air against Israel (see Figure 1). The assault targeted Israeli military bases and civilian areas
 during the final Jewish high holiday, almost exactly 50 years after the Egypt-Syria surprise attack that
 sparked the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Biden Administration and Israel have stated publicly that they do
not have evidence that the Iranian government had a planning role, but are looking at the question. Some
figures from Hamas and the Iran-backed Shia Islamist group Lebanese Hezbollah (also an FTO) have
claimed that Hamas received support for the attacks from Iran, though a senior Hamas official has denied
an Iranian planning role. Iranian officials have praised the assault publicly. The attacks' scope and
lethality against Israel have no precedent in the 16 years Hamas has controlled Gaza. The nature of the
violence stunned Israelis; apparent intelligence and operational failures in preventing the assault surprised
Israeli, U.S., and other Western officials.

















                                                               Congressional Research Service
                                                                 https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                     IN12262


CRS INSIGHT
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