Hamas launched a land, air, and sea attack against Israel early Saturday, and the death toll continues to rise on both sides after Israel declared war against the militant group, the first time the nation has done so since 1973.
The attack from Hamas is one of the largest assaults on Israel in decades, with militants killing hundreds of people and kidnapping soldiers and civilians. The group controls the Gaza Strip, an enclave home to 2 million people.
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Here's what to know about the group that attacked Israel, one of its leaders, "The Guest," and where the war stands.
What is Hamas?
Hamas is a Palestinian militant group that formed in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against the Israeli military, which controlled the West Bank and the Gaza Strip at the time. Its founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was active in the Muslim Brotherhood.
One of two major political parties within the Palestinian territory, Hamas is responsible for suicide attacks against Israeli civilians, as well as the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldiers. While deemed a terrorist group by the United States and several other nations, it has also been the governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Hamas is an acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, with the group founded on three pillars: religion, charity, and the fight against Israel.
The other political party is Fatah, which dominates the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatah rules in the West Bank and renounces violence. Unlike the PLO, however, Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist as a state and speaks frequently about driving all Jews from the state.
Hamas does not receive funding or assistance given to the PLO in the West Bank by the U.S. or European Union. Iran continues to be one of Hamas's largest benefactors, contributing weapons, training, and funds. Iran currently provides some $100 million annually to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. Turkey also reportedly houses some of the group's top leaders, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
History of the Palestine-Israel conflict
The conflict between the Palestinian territories and Israel spans two centuries and dates back to 1948, when the state of Israel was created. In 1957, after invading the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip under Egyptian control, Israel withdrew from Egypt but maintained control over the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian and Syrian forces later invaded Israel on Yom Kippur in October 1973 in an attempt to persuade Israel to negotiate better terms for Arab countries. Nearly 2,700 Israeli soldiers died during the 19-day war.
In 1987, Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza started the First Intifada against Israel, and Hamas was founded by Yassin.
Hamas first employed suicide bombing in April 1993, five months before PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords. It established limited self-governance in parts of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. Hamas condemned the accords and the recognition of Israel.
The U.S. declared Hamas a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. Hamas's movement led to the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah's Tanzim militia engaging in violence against Israelis.
In 2008, Israel launched an attack on Hamas targets in response to rocket fire from Gaza. A ground war between the two ended in 1,200 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths. Israel and Palestinian groups agreed to unilateral ceasefires in January 2009, with Israel withdrawing from Gaza.
Since then, the two groups have exchanged gunfire and kidnapped or killed soldiers and civilians. An Israeli raid on Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 2021 set off an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, killing 200 Palestinians and more than 10 Israelis. In January 2023, a Palestinian man killed seven people outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem.
Who is "The Guest"
"The Guest" refers to Mohammed Deif, commander of the military wing of Hamas and mastermind of the assault against Israel. Deif, which means "guest," is a reference to the practice of Palestinian fighters staying at a different sympathizer's home each night to evade Israeli intelligence.
Deif has been hunted by Israel for decades. He was almost killed in an airstrike 20 years ago that reportedly bound him to a wheelchair after losing an arm and a leg, according to the Financial Times. He is revered by Palestinian militants for his ability to evade capture and kill soldiers and civilians along the way. Only one grainy photograph of him exists in the public domain.
"Even before this, Deif was like a sacred personality and very much respected both within Hamas and by the Palestinians," Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of politics at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told the Financial Times. Deif's biggest assault against Israel will have turned him into a figure "like a god to the young," Abusada added.
Deif was a bombmaker and the architect of Hamas's plan to dig a network of tunnels under Gaza. He was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp during the 1960s. During this time, Gaza was under Egyptian control, and according to an Israeli official familiar with his intelligence file, either his uncle or father was taken during a raid in the 1950s by armed Palestinians.
The official said Deif quickly moved through the ranks of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He was involved in creating Hamas's first rudimentary rockets. Hamas fired 3,500 rockets into Israel on Saturday alone.
Where do things stand now?
Israeli officials are reporting that at least 700 Israelis are dead and over 2,200 are injured. On the Palestinian side, the death toll has risen to nearly 500, and the number of wounded has surged to more than 2,750, according to the Gaza-based health ministry via the New Arab and Associated Press.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Monday that he ordered a "total siege" of the Gaza Strip, allowing no food, fuel, or electricity to enter the territory.
"We are fighting barbaric terrorists, and we will act accordingly," Gallant said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli leaders that the U.S. would provide additional aid and fully support the nation in the fight against Hamas.
At least nine Americans have been killed as a result of the Hamas attacks, as well as several others from other countries. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the U.S. was working overtime to verify all reports of Americans killed, kidnapped, or injured in the Hamas attacks.