Hamas explained as hundreds die following weekend attack
Hundreds have died following an unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas where they fired thousands of rockets into Israel.
Israeli authorities say that around 700 people have been killed in the country with over 1,500 injured after Hamas fighters attacked communities near the Gaza Strip, killing civilians and taking hostages.
Palestinian militant groups claim they have taken over 130 people from Israel hostage.
Advert
The health ministry of Palestine said yesterday (8 October) that at least 370 people had died with over 2,000 wounded following retaliatory airstrikes from Israel.
Israel has formally declared war against Hamas and prime minister Benjamin Netanyah stated they intend to destroy the 'military and governing capabilities' of the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip.
Israel's defence minister has ordered a 'complete siege' of the Gaza Strip, saying they will be able to cut off electricity as well as block food and fuel from reaching the territory.
What is Hamas?
Hamas is an Islamist militant group which has controlled the Gaza Strip since a power struggle in 2007 after they had won the most votes in the parliamentary elections of Palestine the previous year.
Since then Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip, and the group's military wing have been designated terrorists by Israel, the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and the European Union.
Since taking power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 there have been multiple conflicts between Israel and Hamas, with Hamas having sworn in the past to destroy Israel.
Hamas does not recognise Israel's right to exist as a state and has carried out a number of attacks, including suicide bombings of civilians.
The group's name derives from an Arabic acronym for 'Islamic Resistance Movement'.
Are Hamas and Palestine the same thing?
Hamas is a militant group which controls one part of Palestine and was created in 1987 during an uprising against Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestine's other territory.
The West Bank is not ruled by Hamas, it is instead run by the government of Palestine which is controlled by their political rivals Fatah.
While Hamas does not recognise Israel's right to exist the government of Palestine does.
Hamas has received support from nations such as Syria and Iran.
What is the conflict between Israel and Palestine about?
In 1947 the United Nations recommended a plan to partition Palestine, which at that time was a mandate under the British Empire, into an Arab state, a Jewish state and the City of Jerusalem.
When the British mandate expired in May 1948 the state of Israel declared independence and the Arab-Israeli War began, resulting in Israel occupying territories which had been designated for an Arab state.
There have been several subsequent conflicts in the decades since, with Israel's territory increasing with victories.
Groups like Hamas argue that the territory was stolen from the Palestinian people, while Israel says it is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but continues to occupy the West Bank, with a particularly controversial factor being the establishment of settlements which the United Nations Security Council described in 2016 as a 'flagrant violation of international law'.
What is the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian exclave and a stretch of land on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea which borders Egypt to the south west and Israel to the east and north.
According to the United Nations there are over two million people living in the Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took over in 2007.
UN figures indicated that around 1.7 million of the people living in the Gaza Strip are Palestinian refugees.
Access to clean water is not secure for 95 percent of the people living there, electricity is available for an average of 11 hours a day and a majority of people in the Gaza Strip rely on international aid to survive.
UN secretary general António Guterres has said: "If there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza."
What happens next?
The Hamas attack was the most deadly assault on Israel for 75 years and there are still hostages.
The US has dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean and said it would be ready to assist Israel.
According to the Financial Times, experts are discussing whether Israel would send troops into the Gaza Strip in a ground operation.
Topics: World News
Joe Harker