What is Hamas? An overview of the militant Islamic group that attacked Israel

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Hamas will pay dearly for its attacks in Israel: Former Israeli diplomat Azani

Former Israeli diplomat Shahar Azani joins ‘FOX Report’ to discuss the potential responses by Israel to the attacks from Hamas.

Hamas is a group of Iranian-backed terrorists. The group is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the State Department. According to the U.S., E.U. and Israel, it has maintained an iron-clad grip on Gaza since violently taking over the territory in 2007, after Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005.

On December 14, 2022, Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Hamas terror group, and others celebrated the 35th anniversary of Hamas’ founding at the Gaza Strip.

The militant Islamist group, which receives funding and training from Iran, imposes a strict Islamic code on its two million plus residents and continues to engage in fighting Israel, including firing endless rounds of rockets and incendiary devices into Israeli territory, as well as mass protests along the border fence.

ISRAEL’S MILITARY SAYS FORCE IS ‘AT WAR’ WITH HAMAS AS IDF HITS BACK AT TERROR TARGETS

On the morning of October 7, the Hamas terror organization attacked and infiltrated areas of southern Israel with thousands of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. As a result, at least 600 are dead in Israel.

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  Cars are on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip infiltrated Saturday into southern Israel and fired thousands of rockets into the country while Israel began striking targets in Gaza in response.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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  Israeli forces establish heavily armed control points along the border as Israel tightens measures by the army, police and other security forces after Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in Sderot, Israel on October 08, 2023. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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  Israeli soldiers head south near Ashkelon, Israel, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.  (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Mohammad Deif, senior Hamas military commander, announced “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” and called on Palestinians from Jerusalem to Israel to attack Israelis. In a broadcast on Hamas media, he called the assault “the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”

“Wherever there are Hamas terrorists, they will be found and eliminated. They have no immunity,” said Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson Daniel Hagari on October 7. “We are also striking high-profile targets.”

ISRAEL AT WAR: SEE THE PHOTOS, VIDEO OF THE ATTACK AND AFTERMATH

The White House said it “unequivocally condemns” the Hamas attacks in Israel, stressing there is “never any justification for terrorism,” according to National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

Hamas terrorists released videos of their militants kidnapping women, children and the elderly and desecrating dead bodies on their social media. Seth Frantzman, a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and an analyst on Middle East affairs, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Sunday that the videos are shocking but that Hamas “has engaged in 30 years of grotesque terrorism and is a vicious brutal terrorist organization.”

Gabriele Regalbuto is an SEO editor at Fox News Digital. Gabriele has a Journalism and Communications degree from West Virginia University. She has worked to produce content for newspapers, magazines, and digital platforms. At Fox, she has assisted in coverage of breaking news events including the 2024 presidential cycle, 2022 midterm elections, Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.