Hamas conducted a surprise attack on Israel.

Hamas is an organization of Palestinian Arabs whose goal is to create an Islamic country in Palestine. Founded in 1987, it is the largest of the armed Islamist groups in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas governs the Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people. Early on Saturday, October 7, 2023, militants from Gaza fired a barrage of rockets and sent gunmen into southern Israeli territory.

The large-scale surprise attack has left hundreds of Israelis dead, triggering a lethal volley of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes and a formal declaration of war on Sunday.