Here’s what you need to know about Hamas

Hamas launched a devastating and coordinated land, sea and air assault on Israel over the weekend, sparking chaos in the region and thrusting the nationalist movement firmly into the global spotlight.

The militant Palestinian group orchestrated an unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday, killing many hundreds of people and injuring thousands more. Hamas’ fighters have also taken more than 100 Israeli civilians, soldiers and foreign nationals hostage.

The attack marked the deadliest assault the country has suffered in generations and led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that his country is at war.

Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas has seen its military conduct a barrage of airstrikes across the enclosed territory of the Gaza Strip, also killing many hundreds of people.

Israel is mobilizing a record 300,000 reservists and imposed a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, seeking to stop the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the already blockaded population of roughly 2.3 million people. It says it has now secured control of the Gaza-Israel border.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday morning that 770 people have been killed in Gaza, and 4,000 injured. The Israeli Defense Forces said that over 900 Israelis have been killed, and over 2,700 injured.

This brings the total death toll as a result of the conflict so far to over 1,600.

The violence raises questions about the history, motivations and future of Hamas, a group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Japan, Australia, Israel, the European Union and many other countries — although some only apply this label to its military wing.

What is Hamas?

Founded in 1987 and led by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the “Islamic Resistance Movement.”

It is dedicated to the establishment of an independent Islamic state in historical Palestine and has controlled the Gaza Strip — one of two Palestinian territories, along with the West Bank — since 2007. The United Nations classifies Israel as an occupier state over the Palestinian territories, whose occupations and annexations following the 1967 Six-Day War remain in violation of international law.

Hamas is one of two major political forces in the Palestinian territories, the other being Fatah, a rival group previously known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. Fatah retains control of the Palestinian National Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.