The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas, is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist political organisation with a military wing called the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It has governed the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.
Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, better known as Mohammed Deif, is a Palestinian militant and the head of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamist organization Hamas. Israel claims to have assassinated him in an airstrike on Al-Mawasi on 13 July 2024; however, Hamas denied that he was killed in the airstrike.
The Fatah–Hamas Mecca Agreement was signed between Fatah and Hamas in the city of Mecca on 8 February 2007, agreeing to stop the internal military confrontations in the Gaza Strip and form a government of national unity. Representatives from the Fatah side included the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and parliament member Mohammed Dahlan. The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal represented Hamas.
The Islamic University of Gaza, also known as IUG and IU Gaza, is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City. It was the first higher education institution to be established in the Gaza Strip. The university has 11 faculties capable of awarding BA, BSc, MA, MSc, MD, PhD, diplomas and higher diplomas, in addition to 20 research centers and institutes and the affiliated Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital.
The history of Hamas is an account of the Palestinian nationalist and Islamist – described by some as fundamentalist – socio-political organization with an associated paramilitary force, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas (حماس) Ḥamās is an acronym of حركة المقاومة الاسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamat al-Islāmiyyah, meaning "Islamic Resistance Movement".
Tel al-Sultan or Tall as-Sultan is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate just north of Rafah city and Rafah Camp. It was established mainly to absorb refugees repatriated from Canada Camp.
The Fatah–Hamas Doha Agreement was a reconciliation attempt between Fatah and Hamas, signed on 7 February 2012. The parties agreed to form an interim national consensus government composed of independent technocrats, to prepare for upcoming elections. It would be led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The envisioned government did not materialize.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip in Palestine since its takeover of the region from rival party Fatah in June 2007. Hamas' government was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. Until October 2024, Yahya Sinwar was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In January 2024, due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, Israel said that Hamas lost control of most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In May 2024, Hamas regrouped in the north.
Ismail Haniyeh was a Palestinian politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until his assassination in July 2024. He also served as prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority from March 2006 until June 2014 and Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip from June 2007 until February 2017, where he was succeeded by Yahya Sinwar.
Khalil al-Hayya is a Palestinian politician who has served as the deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau since August 2024 until October 2024, succeeded Saleh al-Arouri after his assassination. He also serving as one of the acting quinquevirate leadership of Hamas, alongside with Khaled Mashal, Zaher Jabarin, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, and an unnamed Hamas official after Yahya Sinwar was killed by the IDF in October 2024. He also was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council since January 2006 as a representative of Gaza City.
Khaled Mashal is a Palestinian politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 until May 2017, when he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh. He has also covered duties as the acting leader of Hamas twice, from July 2024 until August 2024 and from October 2024 to the present day, after both leaders were assassinated by Israel. He was regarded as one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas since the death of Ahmed Yassin, alongside Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.
A series of attempts to resolve the hostility between Fatah and Hamas have been made since their 2006–2007 conflict and the subsequent violent conflict over the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas government of October 2016 is a faction of the Palestinian government based in Gaza and is effectively the third Hamas-dominated government in the Gaza Strip since the takeover of Gaza by Hamas. On October 17, 2016, the Supreme Administrative Committee began the process of building progressive ministries in Gaza, reshuffled active ministries and repositioned 16 deputy ministers and director generals in government institutions. The government in Gaza is composed of deputy ministers, governors-general and other high-level officials linked directly to the Ramallah administration. Initially, it was speculated that the formation of the Hamas government in 2016 was an attempt by Ismail Haniyeh to return to full Hamas control of Gaza. As part of government reform, it was decided to expand the Ministry of Planning. The United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan and Israel classify Hamas as a state institution in Gaza associated with the PLO government and recognize the PLO government as the legitimate government of Gaza territory. The Hamas government is recognized by the Palestine State Administration in Ramallah.
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February 2017, until his death in October 2024, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh in both roles.
Mazen Muhammad Suleiman Faqha was a senior commander in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He was sentenced by Israel to 9 life terms in 2003 for his involvement in the planning and execution of multiple terrorist acts beginning in 2001. He was released as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange and deported to Gaza. After his release, he was one of the founders and leaders of Hamas' section in the West Bank.
Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar is a Palestinian militant who has served as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2024, after his brother Yahya Sinwar, chairman of the Hamas Politicial Bureau and the previous leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was killed in the Israel–Hamas war. He is also a leader of the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Afghanistan–Palestine relations refer to diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and the State of Palestine.
Zaher Jabarin is a Palestinian militiant and senior Hamas official in exile and member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). He is the head of the Office of Martyrs, Wounded, and Prisoners, and financial administrator in the Hamas Movement.
On 16 October 2024, during their operations in the Israel–Hamas war, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His killing was the result of a routine patrol and a chance encounter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. He had been one of Israel's most wanted men after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel.
