What is Hamas, how does it control the Gaza Strip and why has Israel declared war?

What is Hamas, how does it control the Gaza Strip and why has Israel declared war?

Israel's security cabinet has formally declared war on Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, following Hamas's unprecedented attack on soldiers and civilians in southern Israel on Saturday.

While the move is largely symbolic, it allows for Israel's military reserves to be called up in greater numbers and potentially lays the groundwork for a ground invasion of Gaza.

So what is Hamas, what is the Gaza Strip, and what sparked this most recent Middle East conflict that threatens to escalate into all-out war?

What is Hamas?
Hamas is a fundamentalist Sunni Islamist group which, along with Fatah, forms one of the two major factions within Palestinian politics.

Founded in the late 1980s as an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and backed by Iran, Hamas advocates for an end to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the establishment of an Islamic state.

Up until May 2017, its charter also explicitly called for the destruction of Israel, with which it has fought a number of wars over the past two decades.

While officially considered a terrorist organisation by the Australian government due to its reliance on political violence, Hamas nevertheless plays a mainstream role in Palestinian politics, operating as a political party and a provider of social services in addition to a paramilitary force.

Since 2007, Hamas has had sole control of the Gaza Strip, after ousting Fatah from the territory in a brief civil war.

What is the Gaza Strip?

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What is Hamas, how does it control the Gaza Strip and why has Israel declared war?
Posted 14h ago14 hours ago, updated 9h ago9 hours ago
A column of armed men in military fatigues, black masks and green headbands parade down a street.
Hamas is a political and paramilitary group opposed to Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip.(AP Photo: Adel Hana)
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Israel's security cabinet has formally declared war on Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, following Hamas's unprecedented attack on soldiers and civilians in southern Israel on Saturday.

While the move is largely symbolic, it allows for Israel's military reserves to be called up in greater numbers and potentially lays the groundwork for a ground invasion of Gaza.

So what is Hamas, what is the Gaza Strip, and what sparked this most recent Middle East conflict that threatens to escalate into all-out war?

Live updates: Follow our blog to get the latest news on the Israel-Palestinian conflict

What is Hamas?
Hamas is a fundamentalist Sunni Islamist group which, along with Fatah, forms one of the two major factions within Palestinian politics.

Founded in the late 1980s as an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and backed by Iran, Hamas advocates for an end to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the establishment of an Islamic state.

Up until May 2017, its charter also explicitly called for the destruction of Israel, with which it has fought a number of wars over the past two decades.

While officially considered a terrorist organisation by the Australian government due to its reliance on political violence, Hamas nevertheless plays a mainstream role in Palestinian politics, operating as a political party and a provider of social services in addition to a paramilitary force.

Since 2007, Hamas has had sole control of the Gaza Strip, after ousting Fatah from the territory in a brief civil war.

What is the Gaza Strip?
Gaza is to the bottom left, along the coast while the West Bank is along the western border with Jordan.

The Gaza Strip is one of the two main territories, along with the much larger West Bank, which make up the Palestinian territories.

A small strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, it is only 41 kilometres long and between six and 12 kilometres wide, but is nevertheless home to more than 2.3 million people.

It is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

Going back in history to World War II, when it was under British control, the land at the time had an Arab majority and Jewish minority.

After the war, with persecuted Jewish people leaving Europe looking for a safe place to live, the United Nations agreed that what had been known as Mandatory Palestine would be divided into a Jewish state named Israel and an Arab state named Palestine.

The Jewish side accepted this but neighbouring Arab states rejected it, sparking the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

For the next two decades Gaza was administered in various forms by Egypt, until it was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.

Since then Israel has either occupied or blockaded thousands of square kilometres of Palestinian territory in Gaza and the West Bank, a situation the United Nations maintains is illegal. #australia #russia #unitedkingdom #usa #unitedstates