The Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, with its fighters entering communities near the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of residents and taking dozens of hostages.
Here's what you need to
know about the people and places involved - and the essential context to
understanding this story.
What is Hamas?
Hamas is a Palestinian
militant group which rules the Gaza Strip. It is sworn to Israel's destruction
and wants to replace it with an Islamic state. Hamas has fought several wars
with Israel since it took power in Gaza in 2007.
In between those wars, it
has fired or allowed other groups to fire thousands of rockets at Israel and
carried out other deadly attacks. Israel has also repeatedly attacked Hamas
with air strikes, and, together with Egypt, has blockaded the Gaza Strip since
2007, for what it says is its security.
Hamas as a whole, or in
some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the
United States, the European Union and the UK, as well as other powers. Hamas is
backed by Iran, which funds it and provides weapons and training.
What
is the Gaza Strip?
The Gaza Strip is a 41km
(25-mile) long and 10 km-wide territory between Israel, Egypt and the
Mediterranean Sea. It is home to about 2.3 million people and has one of the
highest population densities in the world.
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What is life like in the Gaza Strip?
Israel controls
the air space over Gaza and its shoreline and restricts who and what goods are
allowed in and out through its border crossings. Similarly, Egypt controls who
passes in and out through its border with Gaza
About 80% of the population
of Gaza depends on international aid, according to the UN, and about one
million people rely on daily food aid.
What is Palestine?
The West Bank and Gaza,
which are known as the Palestinian territories, as well as East Jerusalem and
Israel all formed part of land known as Palestine since Roman times.
These were also the lands
of Jewish kingdoms in the Bible, and are seen by Jews as their ancient
homeland.
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Israel's borders explained in
maps
Israel was declared a state
in 1948, though the land is still referred to as Palestine by those who do not
recognize Israel's right to exist. Palestinians also use the name Palestine as
an umbrella term for the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Why
did Hamas attack now?
Although the attack by the
militants on 7 October came without warning, it happened at a time of soaring
Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
This year has been the
deadliest year on record for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
which could have motivated Hamas to strike Israel with a spectacular attack.
Hamas might also have been seeking to score a major propaganda victory against
Israel to boost its popularity among ordinary Palestinians.
The fact that it has taken
so many Israelis captive is likely to be aimed at pressuring Israel to free
some of the about 4,500 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons - a highly emotive
issue for all Palestinians.
There is also speculation
that the attack was orchestrated by Iran - Israel's arch-foe - though Iran's
ambassador to the UN has denied his country's involvement.
Iran and Hamas also
staunchly oppose the growing prospect of a historic peace deal between Israel
and Saudi Arabia - something which might be thwarted if Israel's military
response to the attacks provokes widespread anger in the Arab world.
How unprecedented is this attack?
As our International Editor
Jeremy Bowen writes, this is the most ambitious
operation Hamas has ever launched from Gaza and the most serious cross-border
attack Israel has faced in more than a generation.
Militants breached the wire
that separates Gaza from Israel in multiple places.
The unprecedented attack
came a day after the 50th anniversary of the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria
in 1973 that started a major Middle East war. The significance of the date will
not have been lost on the Hamas leadership.
Is this a major Israeli intelligence failure?
Yes, says our security correspondent
Frank Gardner. With the combined efforts of Shin Bet,
Israeli domestic intelligence, Mossad, its external spy agency, and all the
assets of the Israel Defense Forces, he says it is frankly astounding that
nobody saw this coming or failed to act on it if they did have a warning.
Israel has arguably the
most extensive and well-funded intelligence services in the Middle East, with
informants and agents inside Palestinian militant groups, as well as in
Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere.
On the ground, along the
tense border fence between Gaza and Israel, there are cameras, ground-motion
sensors, and regular army patrols.
The barbed-wire fence is supposed to have been a "smart barrier" to prevent exactly
the sort of infiltration that has taken place in this attack. Yet the militants
of Hamas simply bulldozed their way through it, cut holes in the wire, or
entered Israel from the sea and by paraglider.
More on Israel-Gaza attacks
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Follow LIVE: Latest updates
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Hostages: What we know about Israelis
taken by Hamas
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Analysis: Israel blindsided, says Jeremy
Bowen
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Watch: How Hamas' shock attack unfolded
Is the US involved?
America is Israel's closest
ally, and successive administrations have declared the US'
"iron-clad" commitment to Israel's security.
In the wake of the Hamas
attack, the US announced it was moving an aircraft carrier, ships, and jets to
the eastern Mediterranean and that it would also give Israel additional
equipment and ammunition.
It is unclear exactly why
it is moving the fleet, but as well as a show of support towards Israel, it
could be a warning to the powerful Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah - an enemy
of Israel and supporter of Hamas - not to attack Israel.
Nine US citizens - along
with victims from about 16 countries, excluding Israel - were killed in the
Hamas attack.
What happened in 1973 which people are comparing it to?
An equivalence is being drawn
between the Hamas attack and what Israelis refer to as the Yom Kippur War of
1973. Almost 50 years ago to the day, Israel was caught in a surprise attack by
Egypt and Syria on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
The Arab forces made
significant advances before Israel was able to repel them but at a loss of the
lives of 2,656 Israeli soldiers and thousands more wounded (up to around 18,000
were killed and tens of thousands wounded on the Arab side).
The fact that Israel was
caught off-guard and suffered so many casualties made a deep impact on the
Israeli psyche, and military preparedness since then convinced Israelis that
such a thing could never happen again.
What
could happen next?
Hamas militant commander
Mohammed Deif has called on Palestinians and other Arabs to join the militants'
operation to "sweep away the [Israeli] occupation".
A big question now is
whether Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem or elsewhere
in the region will heed his call, says our Jerusalem correspondent Yolande Knell.
Israel undoubtedly sees the
potential for a war that could open up on multiple fronts. A worst-case
scenario is that it could draw in the powerful Lebanese militant group,
Hezbollah. On Sunday morning, Hezbollah launched a number of missiles and
shells at northern Israel, without causing casualties.
The Israeli military has
ordered a massive reinforcement of troops. As well as its intense air raids on
Gaza, it has indicated that it is planning a ground operation there.
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