Contains many features across the full range of issues pertaining to international terrorism: terrorist groups, wanted terrorists, and technical pages on various threat-related topics
National Counterterrorism Center | FTOs HOME FTOs METHOD & TACTICS TIMELINE Home FTOs HAMAS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS HAMAS ( AS OF SEPTEMBER 2022 ) OVERVIEW HAMAS flag HAMAS–the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement)—is the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories’ two major political parties. HAMAS emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch. The group is committed to armed resistance against Israel and the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in Israel’s place. HAMAS has been the de facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power. OPERATING AREASPrimarily in Gaza; also maintains a presence in the West Bank; Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon; and key regional capitals, such as Doha, Qatar, and Cairo, Egypt. MEMBERSBetween 20,000 and 25,000 TACTICS AND TARGETSHAMAS uses improvised explosive devices, short- and long-range rockets and mortars, small arms, kidnapping operations, rocket-propelled grenades, man-portable air defense systems, antitank missiles, and unmanned aircraft systems in attacks against Israeli military forces and civilians, as well as against ISIS and other Salafist armed group members based in Gaza. The group also uses cyber espionage and computer network exploitation operations. FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATIONThe US State Department designated HAMAS as a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997. KEY LEADERS Ismail HaniyehPolitical Bureau chief since May 2017; has operated from Doha, Qatar, since 2020 Salih al-AruriPolitical Bureau deputy chief since 2017 Yahya Al SinwarGaza Political Bureau chief since 2017 Khaled MashalPolitical Bureau External Region chief since early 2021; Political Bureau chief from April 1996 to May 2017 NOTABLE ATTACKS 29 April 2022 West Bank HAMAS’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claims full responsibility for the shooting of an Israeli guard in the West Bank. Other Palestinian militants also claim responsibility for the attack. 23 November 2021 Jerusalem A HAMAS member kills an Israeli tour guide and wounds several civilians and Israeli police officers. May 2021 Gaza Strip and Israel HAMAS launches more than 4,000 rockets at Israel during 11 days of hostilities; Israel responds with widespread air and artillery strikes on HAMAS targets in Gaza. The conflict results in 260 deaths in Gaza and 13 deaths in Israel. 1 October 2015 Near Palestinian village of Beit Furik, West Bank HAMAS gunmen kill an American-Israeli citizen and his wife in their car. | National Counterterrorism Center Note: Documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to view Privacy Policy | Content Notes | Get Adobe Reader × Content Notes Spelling of arabic names and terms While there is no universally accepted transliteration of Arabic names and terms, this edition of the Counterterrorism Calendar adheres to a transliteration system that is generally used throughout the US Government. In this system, the letters “u” and “a” are preferred over “o” and “e.” For example, the name of the al-Qa‘ida operative who was detained on 1 March 2003 is Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, not Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; he was an associate of Usama Bin Ladin, not Osama Bin Laden. We have retained, however, the spellings used on the Rewards for Justice and FBI terrorism sites; spellings there are designed for easy recognition or are used in legal documents and therefore do not always conform to these rules. Islamic calendar The Islamic calendar is based on the movement and observation of the moon. The Islamic year contains 12 months, none of which can exceed 30 days. Each month starts when the lunar crescent is first seen after a new moon. Because 12 lunar months multiplied by 29.53 days equals 354.36 days, the Islamic calendar will always be approximately 11 days shorter than the Western (Gregorian) calendar. For example, 1 Muharram, the first day of Islamic year 1437 (known in the West by the Latin term Anno Hegirae, or A.H.), fell on 14 October 2015; in A.H. 1438, 1 Muharram falls on 2 October 2016. Because of lunar observation and differences in time zones, the observance of Islamic holidays and calendar dates may vary from region to region. Islamic dates and holidays are approximate, as they are determined by local lunar observation. Islamic and Jewish holidays begin the evening preceding the date shown unless stated otherwise. Map boundaries Boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative. The information on this website is valid as of 29 August 2015. This website contains only information in the public domain that has been verified and disseminated by US Government sources. Close