Hamas,an acronym of its official name,Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya,is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement governing the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam,is the military wing of the Palestinian organization Hamas. Currently led by Mohammed Deif,IQB is the largest and best-equipped militant group operating within Gaza today.
Mohammed Shabir was a Palestinian politician and academic who served as president of the Islamic University of Gaza from 1990 to 2005. He was the Prime Minister-in-waiting for the National Unity Government 2007. Senior Hamas officials announced that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on him on 13 November 2006. Shabir,however,did not become Prime Minister. Salam Fayyad became Prime Minister when Hamas took over Gaza,in 2007. Considered close to both Hamas and Fatah,Shabir frequently visited the late Yasser Arafat in his West Bank and Gaza Strip headquarters.
The Fatah–Hamas conflict is an ongoing political and strategic conflict between Fatah and Hamas,the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territories,leading to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The reconciliation process and unification of Hamas and Fatah administrations remains unfinalized and the situation is deemed a frozen conflict.
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 Doghmush is a Palestinian clan from the Gaza Strip.
Juhor ad-Dik is a Palestinian farming village in the Gaza Governorate,south of Gaza City,in the central Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS),the village had a population of 4,586 inhabitants in 2017. This area is controlled by Israel due to the Israel–Hamas war. In May,2024,the Washington Post reported that the village had been destroyed in order to construct the Netzarim Corridor.
Emad Akel also spelled Imad Akel was a commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,the military wing of Hamas. He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces.
The Gaza Mall is Gaza’s first shopping mall. It opened in Gaza City,State of Palestine,on the 17th of July 2010. It is the first mall that has been opened since the 2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip.
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. As of November 2023,Yahya Sinwar continues to be 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 is a Palestinian politician who is widely considered to be the chief political leader of Hamas,which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. He is the current chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. As of 2023,he lives in Qatar.
The Palestinian cabinet,headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah,announced on 23 June 2016 a decision to hold municipal elections on 8 October 2016. The elections were suspended by the Palestinian Court in early September and in January 2017 they were set to 13 May 2017. They were expected to be the first elections in all of the Palestinian territories since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007,as Hamas agreed to participate in the local elections and allow them to be held in the Gaza Strip but disagreements between Hamas and Fatah led to Hamas boycotting stating it will participate only after "ending disagreements,achieving reconciliation,and uniting Palestinian institutions,including at the political,judicial,and security levels". The elections were later slated to be held in West Bank in May 2017 and were postponed in 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 Supreme Administrative Committee,which is in the process of building progressive ministries in Gaza,reshuffles active ministries and repositions of 16 ministers and director generals in government institutions. The government in Gaza is composed of 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 Haniya 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,also spelled Yehya Sinwar,is a Palestinian politician who has been leader of Hamas,the Sunni Islamist political and military organization that rules the Gaza Strip,since 2017.
Ramy Abdu is a Palestinian financial expert,assistant professor of Law and Finance,and human rights advocate who was born in the Gaza Strip. He is the founder and chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor,established in 2011. As the chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor,Abdu delivered several oral statements and took part in different events at the United Nations Human Rights Council,addressing human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa Region.
The Palestinian Joint Operations Room,also known by its full name Joint Room for Palestinian Resistance Factions,is a united front that includes the military arms of the Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip. It includes armed groups from various backgrounds,and ideologies from both the right and the left,including Islamists,socialists,nationalists,and others.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been accused of targeting municipal services in the Gaza Strip,Palestine. as part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The service sector in the region has been repeatedly bombed by the IDF,with a large number of workers in this field killed as a result and the destruction of several municipal facilities and vehicles that provide services to Palestinian citizens.
Moumen Raja Yacoub al-Natour is a Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist based in the Gaza Strip. al-Natour is the founder of the Palestinian Youth for Development.
Mustafa Moien Mahmoud Ayyash,commonly known as Mustafa Moien Ayyash or Mustafa Ayyash,is a Palestinian journalist. He is the founder and director of the Palestinian news channel Gaza Now.
Ahmed Abdel Khalek,also spelled Ahmed Abdelkhaliq,is an Egyptian intelligence officer. He is one of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service's most prominent officers dealing with the Palestinian question.
