what is the hamas

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and it has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas is dedicated to the creation of an independent Palestinian state and the liberation of Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from Israeli occupation. It governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and has fought four wars against Israel since taking power. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by dozens of countries, including the United States. Its military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has conducted many anti-Israel attacks in both Israel and the Palestinian territories since the 1990s, including large-scale bombings against Israeli civilian targets, small-arms attacks, improvised roadside explosives, and rocket attacks.