The tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have existed since before the founding of the Israeli State in 1948. Thousands of people on both sides have been killed or injured in conflicts between the two sides that have occurred over decades.
Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in a war in 1967, then withdrew in 2005. The territory, home to about 2 million Palestinians, fell under the control of Hamas in 2007, after a brief civil war with Fatah, a rival Palestinian faction that is the backbone of the Palestinian Authority.
After Hamas took control of Gaza, Israel and Egypt imposed a strict blockade on the territory, which continues to this day. Israel also maintains an air and naval blockade on Gaza.
Before the operation on Saturday (7), the last war between Hamas and Israel was in 2021, which lasted 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
The attack on Saturday occurred on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war, when Israel’s Arab neighbors launched a surprise attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, on October 6, 1973.
What is Hamas?
Hamas is an Islamic organization with a military wing that emerged in 1987, rising from the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamic group founded in the late 1920s in Egypt.
The word “Hamas” is an Arabic acronym for “Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia” – Islamic Resistance Movement. The group, like most Palestinian factions and political parties, believes that Israel occupies their territory and, therefore, their struggle aims to liberate Palestinian territories from the “occupiers.” They consider Israel an illegitimate state.
The group’s refusal to recognize Israel as a nation is one of the reasons why peace negotiations fail. In 1993, they opposed the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Hamas presents itself as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which recognized Israel and engaged in multiple peace initiatives. The PA is currently led by Mahmoud Abbas and is based in the West Bank, occupied by Israel.
Over the years, Hamas has claimed many attacks on Israel and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and Israel. Israel accuses its arch-enemy, Iran, of financially supporting Hamas.
Source: CNN