Hamas (abbreviation for “Islamic Resistance Movement”) was founded in the wake of the Palestinian Intifada uprising at the end of 1987. Its members have kidnapped Israeli soldiers several times and sent suicide bombers into Israeli cities. The organization has its roots in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The founder was Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was also the spiritual leader of Hamas until he was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in March 2004.
In 2006, Hamas won the parliamentary elections, and the following year it used force to seize sole control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, she has also been responsible for caring for the civilian population in the coastal strip.
In its charter, Hamas calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and the violent establishment of an Islamic state of Palestine from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. That is the overarching goal of the group, which has been classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, USA and Israel.