December 7, 2025:
Hamas, a militant and aggressive Palestinian terrorist militia, has been around since the 1980s. Hamas is a perennial loser in its battles with Israel. One exception was the October 2023 surprise attack that had three thousand armed Hamas members leave their Gaza hiding places and attack unprepared Israelis. Over a thousand Israelis and foreigners in the area for a music festival were killed. This was the largest number of Jews killed in a single incident since the World War II Nazi German efforts to eradicate all Jews.
Hamas in Gaza and Fatah, an older Palestinian terrorist organization, in the West Bank, were long-time rivals for Palestinian leadership. Neither was able to overcome the other and form a united Palestinian government. That changed with the October 2023 attack where Hamas took the initiative but failed to overcome Fatah’s nominal government in the West Bank.
The recent fighting in Gaza, a region south of Israel, has left thousands of Hama fighters dead, destroyed most of their weapons stockpiles and tunnels used for hiding fighters and munitions. Currently Hamas is fighting a guerrilla war with groups of Hamas fighters entrenching themselves while staging ambushes of any Israeli soldiers to come near. Hamas fighters will move at night or whenever there are no Israeli soldiers present. Hamas only attacks when they have a numerical or surprise advantage, placing remotely detonated explosives on roadsides or abandoned buildings. If possible, they place small explosive devices on top of Israeli military vehicles and hope they are not noticed before they are detonated remotely or via a timer. So far this year about 70 Israeli soldiers have been killed and several hundred wounded.
Hamas forces dress as civilians and some will approach Israeli soldiers and then pull out a pistol or grenade and try to kill as many Israelis as they can before they are shot dead. Hamas survives by extorting food and other supplies from Palestinian civilians and persuading young men to join them and kill Israelis and become a martyr to the cause of Palestinian statehood. That goal is difficult to achieve because a Palestinian State implies the elimination of Israel.
Most Palestinians see Hamas as more of a threat than a liberator. The threats and extortion Palestinian civilians endure from Hamas are made worse by Hamas recruiting Palestinians to fight a die for the cause. Several hundred thousand Palestinian civilians remain in Gaza, believing they have nowhere else to go. At the same time they are victimized by Hamas which steals food aid and hides among them. This makes Hamas unpopular with Palestinians as well as Israelis.
Peace talks last August between Israel and Islamic terrorist group Hamas continue to not happen. Hamas has been interfering with Israeli and foreign efforts to bring food to the starving Gazans. Because of this the hungry Palestinians turned on Hamas, accusing them of prolonging the hunger. Israeli troops continue to fight Hamas while attempting to get more food into Gaza. Over a hundred Palestinians have been killed or wounded, along with some aid workers and Israeli troops.