Hamas: Hamas meaning and wetin dey happun for Israel
8 October 2023
Di Palestinian militant group Hamas don launch attack on Israel, wit dia fighters wey dey enter communities near di Gaza Strip, e kill residents and take hostages.
Here na wetin you need know about di pipo and places wey involve - and di essential context to understand dis story.
Meaning of Hamas
Hamas na Palestinian Islamist militant group wey dey rule di Gaza Strip. Hamas don swear to Israel destruction and don fight several wars wit Israel since dem take over power for Gaza for 2007.
In between those wars, dem don fire or allow oda groups to fire thousands of rockets for Israel, and carry out oda deadly attacks. Israel don also repeatedly attack Hamas wit air strikes, and, togeda wit Egypt, don block di Gaza Strip since 2007 sometin wey dem tok say na for dia security.
- Hamas explained
Hamas as a whole, or for some cases dia military wing, dey designated as terrorist group by Israel, di United States, di European Union and di UK, as well as oda powers. Hamas dey backed by Iran wey dey fund dem and provide weapons and training.
Wetin be di Gaza Strip?
Di Gaza Strip na one 41km- (25-mile) long and 10km-wide territory between Israel, Egypt and di Mediterranean Sea. Na home to about 2.3 million pipo and e get one of di highest population densities for di world.
- Wetin life be like for Strip?
Israel dey control di air space over Gaza and im shoreline and dey restrict who and which goods dey allowed in and out through dia border crossings. Similarly, Egypt dey kontrol wetin pass in and out through dia border wit Gaza.
Why Israel and Hamas dey fight?
Constant tension don dey between Israel and Hamas, but di attack by di militants on Saturday come without warning. Hamas bin fire thousands of rockets for Israel while dozens of fighters breach di border and invade Israeli communities, kill dozens of civilians and take odas as captive.
Israel launch immediate air strikes, dey say dem dey target militant sites for Gaza.
How unparallel dis attack dey?
As our International Editor Jeremy Bowen write, dis na di most ambitious operation Hamas don ever launch from Gaza and di most serious cross-border attack Israel don face inside more dan one generation.
Militants bin breach di wire wey separate Gaza from Israel for multiple places.
Di unprecedented attack bin come one day afta di 50th anniversary of di surprise attack by Egypt and Syria for 1973 wey start one major Middle East war. Di significance of di date no be one wey di Hamas leadership forget.
Dis na major Israeli intelligence failure?
Yes, na so our security correspondent Frank Gardner tok. Wit di combined efforts of Shin Bet, Israeli domestic intelligence, Mossad, na external spy agency and all di assets of di Israel Defense Forces, e say e dey frankly shocking say nobody see dis one dey come or fail to act on am if dem get di warning.
You fit argue am, Israel na di most extensive and well-funded intelligence services for di Middle East, wit informants and agents inside Palestinian militant groups, as well as inside Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere.
On di ground, along di tense border fence between Gaza and Israel e get cameras, ground-motion sensors and regular army patrols.
Di barbed-wire topped fence suppose be "smart barrier" wey go prevent exactly di kind infiltration wey don take place for dis attack. Yet di militants of Hamas simply bulldoze dia way through am, cut holes for di wire or enter Israel from di sea and by paraglider.
Wetin be Palestine and wetin dis events need do wit am?
Di West Bank and Gaza, wey dey known as di Palestinian territories, as well as East Jerusalem and Israel all bin form part of land wey pipo sabi as Palestine since Roman times.
Dis also be di lands of Jewish kingdoms for di Bible, and dey seen by Jews as dia ancient homeland.
- Israel borders explained for maps
Israel dey declared as state for 1948, though di land still dey referred to as Palestine by those wey no recognise Israel right to exist. Palestinians dey also use di name Palestine as one umbrella term for di West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Wetin fit happun next?
Hamas militant commander Mohammed Deif don call on Palestinians and oda Arabs to join di militants' operation to "sweep away di [Israeli] occupation".
One big kwesion now na weda Palestinians for di occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem or elsewhere for di region go heed im call, our Jerusalem correspondent Yolande Knell tok.
Israel no doubt see di potential for war wey fit open up on multiple fronts. One worst-case scenario be say dem fit draw in di powerful Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.
Di Israeli military don order one massive reinforcement of troops. As well as im intense air raids on Gaza, e don indicate say dem dey plan one ground operation dia.
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