Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have been at war since early October 2023

It began when Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza - the deadliest in Israel's history.
An Israeli military campaign has followed, which has killed thousands in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas became the sole ruler of Gaza after violently ejecting political rivals in 2007.
It has an armed wing and was thought to have about 30,000 fighters before the start of the war.

The group, whose name stands for Islamic Resistance Movement, wants to create an Islamic state in place of Israel.

Hamas rejects Israel's right to exist and is committed to its destruction.

Hamas justified its attack as a response to what it calls Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

These include security raids on Islam's third holiest site - the al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem - and Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas also wants thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel to be freed and for an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt - something both countries say is for security.

It has fought several wars with Israel since it took power, fired thousands of rockets and carried out many other deadly attacks.

Israel has repeatedly attacked Hamas with air strikes and sent troops into Gaza in 2008 and 2014.

Hamas, or in some cases its armed wing alone, is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US, the EU, and the UK, among others.

Iran backs Hamas with funding, weapons and training.