Editing Hamas (section)

==Violence==
Hamas has used both political activities and violence in pursuit of its goals. For example, while politically engaged in the 2006 Palestinian Territories parliamentary election campaign, Hamas stated in its election manifesto that it was prepared to use "armed resistance to end [[Israeli-occupied territories|the occupation]]".<ref name="SMF22">{{cite news |author=Madelene Axelsson |date=27 January 2006 |title=Islamistisk politik vinner mark |url=http://www.stockholmsfria.nu/artikel/6296 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927034525/http://www.stockholmsfria.nu/artikel/6296 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=10 April 2006 |publisher=[[Stockholms Fria Tidning]] |language=sv}}</ref> Hamas has repeatedly justified its violence by arguing "People under occupation have a right to resist that occupation".<ref name=sen/> Hamas also argues its armed resistance only started after decades of Israeli occupation.<ref name=sen>{{cite book |last1=Sen |first1=Somdeep |title=Decolonizing Palestine: Hamas between the anticolonial and the postcolonial |date=2020 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |location=Ithaca [New York] |isbn=9781501752735 |pages=60–62}}</ref>

From 2000 to 2004, Hamas was responsible for killing nearly 400 Israelis and wounding more than 2,000 in 425 attacks, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2001 through May 2008, Hamas launched more than 3,000 Qassam rockets and 2,500 mortar attacks into Israel.<ref name="fox1">[https://www.foxnews.com/story/israel-at-war-to-the-bitter-end-strikes-key-hamas-sites Israel At 'War to the Bitter End,' Strikes Key Hamas Sites]  29 December 2008, Fox News</ref>

===Attacks on civilians===
[[File:HAMAS suicide bombing in Jerusalem on 25 February (DoS Publication 10321).png|upright|thumb|Aftermath of 1996 [[Jaffa Road bus bombings]] in which 26 people were killed]]

Hamas have committed massacres targeting Israeli civilians. Hamas's most deadly suicide bombing was an attack on a [[Netanya]] hotel on 27 March 2002, in which 30 people were killed and 140 were wounded. The attack has also been referred to as the [[Netanya suicide attack|Passover massacre]] since it took place on the first night of the Jewish festival of [[Passover]] at a [[Passover Seder|Seder]].

Hamas has defended suicide attacks as a legitimate aspect of its [[asymmetric warfare]] against Israel. In 2003, according to Stephen Atkins, Hamas resumed suicide bombings in Israel as a retaliatory measure after the failure of peace talks and an Israeli campaign targeting members of the upper echelon of the Hamas leadership.{{efn|'This ceasefire ended when Israel started targeting Hamas leaders for assassination in July 2003. Hamas retaliated with a suicide bombing in Israel on 19 August 2003, that killed 20 people, including 6 children. Since then Israelis have mounted an assassination campaign against the senior leadership of Hamas that has killed 13 Hamas members, including Ismail Abu Shanab, one of the most moderate leaders of Hamas. ... After each of these assassinations, Hamas has sent a suicide bomber into Israel in retaliation.'{{sfn|Atkins|2004|p=123}}}} but they are considered as [[crimes against humanity]] under international law.<ref>{{cite web |author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=https://www.refworld.org/country,,HRW,COUNTRYREP,ISR,,3dc9379d4,0.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416012248/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,HRW,COUNTRYREP,ISR,,3dc9379d4,0.html |archive-date=16 April 2013 |title=Refworld &#124; Erased In A Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians |publisher=UNHCR |access-date=27 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Saarnivaara|first=Minn|title=Suicide Campaigns as a Strategic Choice: The Case of Hamas |journal=Policing|volume=2|issue=4|pages=423–33|year=2008|doi=10.1093/police/pan061}}</ref> In a 2002 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas leaders "should be held accountable" for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed by the al-Qassam Brigades.<ref name="hrw.org-bombing">[https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/isrl-pa/ISRAELPA1002-05.htm#P735_169095 Erased In A Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians] V. Structures and Strategies of the Perpetrator Organizations, [[Human Rights Watch]], October 2002. {{ISBN|1564322807}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/06/30/indiscriminate-fire-0 |title=Indiscriminate Fire, Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israel and Israeli Artillery Shelling in the Gaza Strip |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=30 June 2007 |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524155207/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/06/30/indiscriminate-fire-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/08/28/civilians-under-assault |title=Civilians under Assault, Hezbollah's Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=28 August 2007 |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524155118/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2007/08/28/civilians-under-assault }}</ref>

In 2008, Hamas leader [[Khaled Mashal]], offered that Hamas would attack only military targets if the IDF would stop causing the deaths of Palestinian civilians.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632372365&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609190105/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632372365&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=9 June 2008 |title=Mashaal offers to cease civilian attacks |access-date=1 June 2016}} 31 March 2008, ''The Jerusalem Post''</ref> Following a 19 June 2008, ceasefire, the al-Qassam Brigades ended its rocket attacks and arrested Fatah militants in Gaza who had continued sporadic rocket and mortar attacks against Israel. The al-Qassam Brigades resumed the attacks after the 4 November Israeli incursion into Gaza.<ref name="ITIC"/><ref name="ynetnews.com"/>[[File:Nova_massacre_dashcam.jpg|thumb|The 2023 [[Re'im music festival massacre]] left 364 people dead with many others wounded or taken hostage]]
During the [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel]], Hamas infiltrated homes, shot civilians en masse, and took scores of Israeli civilians and soldiers as hostages into Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |last=Debre |first=Isabel |date=8 October 2023 |title=Israeli hostage crisis in Hamas-ruled Gaza becomes a political trap for Netanyahu |url=https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-israel-military-prisoners-hostage-hamas-soldiers-e75729364f8c0b453da272365c16d136 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014211944/https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-israel-military-prisoners-hostage-hamas-soldiers-e75729364f8c0b453da272365c16d136 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=15 October 2023 |publisher=AP News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gold |first1=Hadas |last2=Murphy |first2=Paul P. |last3=Salma |first3=Abeer |last4=Dahman |first4=Ibrahim |last5=Khadder |first5=Kareem |last6=Mezzofiore |first6=Gianluca |last7=Goodwin |first7=Allegra |date=8 October 2023 |title=Hamas captures hostages as Israelis share photos of those missing |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/07/middleeast/hostages-hamas-israel-gaza/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014210614/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/07/middleeast/hostages-hamas-israel-gaza/index.html |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=15 October 2023 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], the deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and taking of civilians as hostages amount to [[war crime]]s under international humanitarian law.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 October 2023 |title=Israel/Palestine: Devastating Civilian Toll as Parties Flout Legal Obligations |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/09/israel/palestine-devastating-civilian-toll-parties-flout-legal-obligations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009202840/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/09/israel/palestine-devastating-civilian-toll-parties-flout-legal-obligations |archive-date=9 October 2023 |website=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> During its October 2023 offensive against Israel, Hamas massacred 364 people at the [[Re'im music festival massacre|Re'im music festival]], while abucting others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/death-count-from-massacre-at-reim-music-festival-reportedly-updated-to-364-a-third-of-oct-7-deaths/|title=Death count from Re'im music festival massacre reportedly updated to 364 — a third of Oct. 7 fatalities|work=The Times of Israel|date=17 November 2023|access-date=20 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="Morris2023">{{Cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Loveday |last2=Piper |first2=Imogen |last3=Sohyun Lee |first3=Joyce |last4=George |first4=Susannah |date=8 October 2023 |title=How a night of dancing and revelry in Israel turned into a massacre |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/08/israel-festival-attack-gaza-militants/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008200354/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/08/israel-festival-attack-gaza-militants/ |archive-date=8 October 2023}}</ref> During the same offensive, it also was reported that Hamas had massacred the population of the [[Kfar Aza]] kibbutz.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lubell |first=Maayan |date=10 October 2023 |title=Bodies of residents and militants lie in the grounds of ravaged Israeli kibbutz |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/bodies-residents-militants-lie-grounds-ravaged-israeli-kibbutz-2023-10-10/ |access-date=10 October 2023}}</ref> About 10 percent of the residents of the [[Be'eri]] kibbutz were killed.<ref>{{cite news |title=10 Percent of Kibbutz Population Found Dead After Hamas Massacre in Southern Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-10/ty-article/.premium/10-percent-of-kibbutz-population-found-dead-after-hamas-massacre-in-southern-israel/0000018b-191c-df31-a99f-7ddf54fa0000 |work=Haaretz |date=10 October 2023}}</ref> Hamas militants attacked the [[Psyduck music festival massacre|Psyduck festival]], that took place near kibutz Nir Oz, killing 17 [[Israelis|Israeli]] partygoers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ntieb |first=Arnold |date=10 October 2023 |title=לא רק ברעים: המסיבה הנוספת בדרום שמשתתפיה טרם שבו הביתה |trans-title=Not only in Re'im: The participants of the other southern festival who did not come back |url=https://www.maariv.co.il/news/military/Article-1043995 |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=maariv |language=he}}</ref> Video footage shows children being deliberately killed during the kibbutz attacks,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=23 October 2023 |title=Israel shows footage of Hamas killings 'to counter denial of atrocities' |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/23/israel-shows-footage-of-hamas-killings-to-counter-denial-of-atrocities |access-date=26 October 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> as well as what appears to be an attempt to decapitate a living person using a garden hoe.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 October 2023 |title=Israel shows Hamas bodycam attack footage to journalists |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67198270 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> Forensic teams who examined bodies of victims said many bodies showed signs of torture as well as [[Sexual and gender-based violence in the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel|sexual and gender-based violence]], and testimonies to this effect were also collected by Israeli police.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 November 2023 |title=Israel investigates an elusive, horrific enemy: Rape as a weapon of war |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-rape-sexual-violence/ |access-date=4 December 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The Scope of Hamas' Campaign of Rape Against Israeli Women Is Revealed, Testimony After Testimony |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-30/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/hamas-campaign-of-rape-against-israeli-women-is-revealed-testimony-after-testimony/0000018c-2144-da36-a1de-6767dac90000 |access-date=4 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 2023 |title=Israeli forensic teams describe signs of torture, abuse |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-forensic-teams-describe-signs-torture-abuse-2023-10-15/ |access-date=4 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Israeli Police Collect Eyewitness Testimony of Gang Rape During Hamas Attack |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-08/ty-article/israeli-police-collect-eyewitness-testimony-of-gang-rape-during-hamas-attack/0000018b-b025-d3c1-a39b-bee5ef400000 |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref> Haaretz later reported that forensic pathologists who examined bodies of the victims taken the Shura Base for identification found "no signs on any of those bodies attesting to sexual relations having taken place or of mutilation of genitalia." Not all bodies could be fully examined given the lack of forensic pathologists, and for some conclusions could not be drawn given their deteriorated state.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rozovsky |first=Liza |date=18 April 2024 |title=15 Witnesses, Three Confessions, a Pattern of Naked Dead Bodies. All the Evidence of Hamas Rape on October 7 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-18/ty-article-magazine/witnesses-confessions-naked-dead-bodies-all-the-evidence-of-hamas-rape-on-oct-7/0000018e-f114-d92e-abfe-f77f7e3f0000 |access-date=28 November 2024 |work=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> Israeli forensic pathologists in charge of the process clarified later that all bodies had been examined, and some were disfigured or burned.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mor |first1=Zohar |last2=Kugel |first2=Chen |last3=Mizrahi |first3=Hagar |last4=Kaliner |first4=Ehud |date=November 2024 |title=Mass killing during terror attack at the Israel-Gaza border and the role of the Ministry of Health in identification of human remains and their release |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39128201/ |journal=Forensic Science International |volume=363 |pages=1 |doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112188 |issn=1872-6283 |pmid=39128201 |quote=Bodies were delivered to a central mortuary. Each body was coded and undressed for external inspection and documentation of physical elements... Whole-body CT was performed in cases the bodies were disfigured or burned from the second week}}</ref> Some of the testimonies were later proven to be false.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grim |first1=Ryan |last2=Boguslaw |first2=Daniel |last3=Scahill |first3=Jeremy |date=29 February 2024 |title=Between the Hammer and the Anvil: The Story Behind the New York Times October 7 Exposé |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/02/28/new-york-times-anat-schwartz-october-7/ |access-date=1 April 2024 |work=[[The Intercept]]}}</ref><ref name="beri-false">{{cite news |last1=Grim |first1=Jeremy |last2=Scahil |first2=Ryan |date=4 March 2024 |title=Kibbutz Be'eri Rejects Story in New York Times October 7 Exposé: "They Were Not Sexually Abused" |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/03/04/nyt-october-7-sexual-violence-kibbutz-beeri/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=[[The Intercept]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 May 2024 |title=How 2 debunked accounts of sexual violence on Oct. 7 fueled a global dispute over Israel-Hamas war |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-sexual-violence-zaka-ca7905bf9520b1e646f86d72cdf03244 |access-date=25 August 2024 |work=[[AP News]] |language=en}}</ref> Detailed reports by the UN and ''[[The Times]]'' concluded that Israel's claims about the scale and formally sanctioned, systematic nature of sexual assaults did not stand up to scrutiny.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission report - Official visit of the Office of the SRSG-SVC to Israel and the occupied West Bank 29 January – 14 February 2024 |url=https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/report/mission-report-official-visit-of-the-office-of-the-srsg-svc-to-israel-and-the-occupied-west-bank-29-january-14-february-2024/20240304-Israel-oWB-CRSV-report.pdf |access-date=5 March 2024 |publisher=United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict}}</ref><ref name="OHCHR3">{{cite report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session56/a-hrc-56-26-auv.docx |title=Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel |author=Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory |date=12 June 2024 |publisher=Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |access-date=23 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829134953/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session56/a-hrc-56-26-auv.docx |archive-date=29 August 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Weiniger">{{Cite web |last1=Philp |first1=Catherine |last2=Weiniger |first2=Gabrielle |date=7 June 2024 |title=Israel says Hamas weaponised rape. Does the evidence add up? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-times-magazine/article/israel-hamas-rape-investigation-evidence-october-7-6kzphszsj |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008030639/https://www.thetimes.com/magazines/the-times-magazine/article/israel-hamas-rape-investigation-evidence-october-7-6kzphszsj |archive-date=8 October 2024 |access-date=11 August 2024 |website=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

===Rocket attacks on Israel===
{{see also|Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel}}
{{Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel}}
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have launched thousands of rockets into Israel since 2001, killing 15 civilians, wounding many more, and posing an ongoing threat to the nearly 800,000 Israeli civilians who live and work in the weapons' range. Hamas officials have said that the rockets were aimed only at military targets, saying that civilian casualties were the "accidental result" of the weapons' poor quality. According to [[Human Rights Watch]], statements by Hamas leaders suggest that the purpose of the rocket attacks was indeed to strike civilians and civilian objects. From January 2009, following [[Operation Cast Lead]], Hamas largely stopped launching rocket attacks on Israel and has on at least two occasions arrested members of other groups who have launched rockets, "showing that it has the ability to impose the law when it wants".<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/en/node/89574/section/3 HRW report] 11 April 2010</ref> In February 2010, Hamas issued a statement regretting any harm that may have befallen Israeli civilians as a result of Palestinian rocket attacks during the Gaza war. It maintained that its rocket attacks had been aimed at Israeli military targets but lacked accuracy and hence sometimes hit civilian areas. Israel responded that Hamas had boasted repeatedly of targeting and murdering civilians in the media.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Al-Mughrabi, Nidal|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6141LC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101030958/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6141LC|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 January 2016|title=Hamas "regrets" civilian deaths, Israel unmoved|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=5 February 2010}}</ref>

According to one report, commenting on the 2014 conflict, "nearly all the 2,500–3,000 rockets and mortars Hamas has fired at Israel since the start of the war seem to have been aimed at towns", including an attack on "a kibbutz collective farm close to the Gaza border", in which an Israeli child was killed.<ref name="Training Manual">{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Luke|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-gaza-hamas-document-idUSKBN0GO0D120140824|title=Israel says it found Hamas training manual in Gaza|publisher=Reuters|date=24 August 2014|access-date=25 August 2014|archive-date=24 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824134841/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/24/us-mideast-gaza-hamas-document-idUSKBN0GO0D120140824|url-status=live}}</ref> Former Israeli Lt. Col. Jonathan D. Halevi stated that "Hamas has expressed pride in aiming long-range rockets at strategic targets in Israel including the nuclear reactor in Dimona, the chemical plants in Haifa, and Ben-Gurion Airport", which "could have caused thousands" of Israeli casualties "if successful".<ref>{{cite web|last=Halevi|first=Jonathan D.|url=http://jcpa.org/hamas-threat-no-different-from-isis/|title=The Hamas Threat to the West Is No Different from ISIS|work=Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs |publisher=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs|date=4 August 2014|access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref>

In July 2008, [[Barack Obama]], then the Democratic presidential candidate, said: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."<ref>Steven Lee Myers and Helene Cooper, [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/washington/29diplo.html Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis], New York Times 28 December 2009</ref> On 28 December 2008, Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] said in a statement: "the United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473167,00.html U.S. Condemns Hamas in Midst of Israeli Strikes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625060725/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473167,00.html |date=25 June 2013}}, Fox News 28 December 2008</ref> On 2 March 2009, Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] condemned the attacks.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090307170418/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gid-B97gmhLgqf8brVLEKN46E-Lw Clinton calls for 'durable' Gaza truce, condemns rockets], AFP 2 March 2009</ref>

On 7 October 2023, Hamas claimed responsibility for a barrage of missile attacks originating from the Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-07/israel-targets-hamas-military-operation-rocket-attacks/102947766 |title='We are at war': Palestinian militants launch new military operation, Israel strikes targets in Gaza |publisher=ABC News |date=7 October 2023}}</ref>

===Guerrilla warfare===
[[File:Weapons Found in Shuja'iya, Gaza (14552909800).jpg|thumb|Hamas anti-tank rockets, captured by Israel Defense Forces during Operation Protective Edge]]
Hamas has made great use of [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]] in the Gaza Strip and to a lesser degree the West Bank.<ref name="ynetnews_weight">{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310425,00.html|work=[[Ynetnews]] |date=3 October 2006|title=Report: Hamas weighing large-scale conflict with Israel}}</ref> It has successfully adapted these techniques over the years since its inception. According to a 2006 report by rival Fatah party, Hamas had smuggled between several hundred and 1,300 tons of advanced rockets, along with other weaponry, into Gaza.<ref name="ynetnews_weight" />

Hamas has used [[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]] and [[anti-tank rocket]]s against the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] in Gaza. The latter include standard [[RPG-7]] warheads and home-made rockets such as the [[Al-Bana]], Al-[[Batar]] and Al-[[Yasin (RPG)|Yasin]]. The IDF has a difficult, if not impossible, time trying to find hidden weapons caches in Palestinian areas—this is due to the high local support base Hamas enjoys.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/levineconference/papers/aburaiya.pdf#search=%22hamas%20enjoys%20great%20popular%20support%22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031104083809/http://www.humanities.uci.edu/history/levineconference/papers/aburaiya.pdf#search=%22hamas%20enjoys%20great%20popular%20support%22|archive-date=4 November 2003|author=Issam Aburaiya|date=3 October 2006|title=Hamas and Palestinian Nationalism}}</ref>

=== Extrajudicial killings of rivals ===
{{anchor|EJK}}<!-- please do not remove the anchor, it is needed for connections from other pages -->{{see also| Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip }}

In addition to killing Israeli civilians and armed forces, Hamas has also murdered suspected Palestinian Israel collaborators and Fatah rivals.<ref>{{cite news |last=[[Corey Flintoff]] |date=31 July 2008 |title=Palestinian Rivals Accused Of Human Rights Abuses |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93143826}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1159712646109&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News|title=Fatah, Hamas gunbattles kill 7|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=1 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805234113/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1159712646109&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News%2FNews|archive-date=5 August 2011}}</ref> According to the [[Associated Press]], collaborating with Israel is a crime punishable by death in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |last=Associated Press |date=2 April 2021 |title=Gaza Activist: After Lengthy Torture, Hamas Forced Me to Divorce |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/middle-east_gaza-activist-after-lengthy-torture-hamas-forced-me-divorce/6204063.html |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=[[Voice of America]]}}</ref> Hundreds of Palestinians were executed by both Hamas and Fatah during the First Intifada.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yosif Mahmoud Haj-Yahis|title=Alleged Palestinian Collaborators with Israel and Their Families: A Study of Victims of Internal Political Violence|publisher=Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Hebrew University of Jerusalem|year=2009|pages=18–19|display-authors=etal}}</ref> In the wake of the 2006 Israeli conflict with Gaza, Hamas was accused of systematically rounding up, torturing and summarily executing Fatah supporters suspected of supplying information to Israel. Human Rights Watch estimates several hundred Gazans were "maimed" and tortured in the aftermath of the conflict. Seventy-three Gazan men accused of "collaborating" had their arms and legs broken by "unidentified perpetrators", and 18 Palestinians accused of helping Israel were executed by Hamas security officials in the first days of the conflict.<ref name="HRW1">[https://www.hrw.org/en/node/82359/section/2 Under Cover of War|Human Rights Watch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012758/http://www.hrw.org/en/node/82359/section/2 |date=19 April 2014 }}. Human Rights Watch (20 April 2009). Retrieved on 21 August 2010.</ref><ref name="btselem.org">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080510125140/http://www.btselem.org/English/Inter_Palestinian_Violations/ B'Tselem&nbsp;– Violations of the human rights of Palestinians by Palestinians&nbsp;– Severe human rights violations in inter-Palestinian clashes]. Btselem.org (12 November 2007). Retrieved on 21 August 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kalman |first=Matthew |title=Hamas executes suspected Fatah traitors in Gaza |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/21/MNHV15EHUT.DTL |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=22 January 2009 |access-date=7 September 2013}}</ref> In November 2012, Hamas's Izzedine al-Qassam brigade publicly executed six Gaza residents accused of collaborating with Israel. According to the witnesses, six alleged informers were shot dead one by one in [[Gaza City]], while the corpse of the sixth victim was tied by a cable to the back of a motorcycle and dragged through the streets.<ref>{{cite news|author=The Associated Press |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hamas-militants-kill-6-suspected-informers-witnesses-say-1.1172426 |title=Hamas militants kill 6 suspected informers, witnesses say |publisher=CBC News |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref> In 2013, Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning Hamas for not investigating and giving a proper trial to the six men. Their statement was released the day before Hamas issued a deadline for "collaborators" to turn themselves in, or they will be pursued "without mercy".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/rights-group-pans-hamas-for-not-probing-executions/|title=Rights group pans Hamas for not probing executions|newspaper=The Times of Israel}}</ref> During the [[2014 Israel-Gaza conflict]], Hamas executed at least 23 accused collaborators after three of its commanders were assassinated by Israeli forces, with [[Amnesty International]] also reporting instances of torture used by Hamas forces.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 May 2015 |title=Amnesty International: Hamas guilty of torture, summary executions |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amnesty-international-hamas-guilty-of-torture-summary-executions/2015/05/27/4d1ee6b1-ac6a-420f-b7a7-80aa62d24b86_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126163031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amnesty-international-hamas-guilty-of-torture-summary-executions/2015/05/27/4d1ee6b1-ac6a-420f-b7a7-80aa62d24b86_story.html |archive-date=26 January 2021 |access-date=16 October 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="Executions">{{cite news|title=Large number of alleged Israeli informers killed in Gaza|url=http://www.palestiniannews.net/index.php/sid/225005191|date=22 August 2014|access-date=23 August 2014|publisher=Palestinian News.Net|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115720/http://www.palestiniannews.net/index.php/sid/225005191|url-status=dead}}</ref> An Israeli source denied that any of the commanders had been targeted on the basis of human intelligence.<ref name="Not collaborators"/>

Frequent{{ambiguous|date=August 2024}} killings of unarmed people have also occurred during Hamas-Fatah clashes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2090520.stm |title=Middle East &#124; Unrest erupts in Gaza Strip |publisher=BBC News |date=3 July 2002 |access-date=27 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levinson |first=Charles |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/10/wirq310.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615173959/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F06%2F10%2Fwirq310.xml |archive-date=15 June 2007 |title=Shot by their own side, healed by the enemy |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=10 June 2007 |access-date=27 May 2010 |location=London}}</ref> NGOs have cited a number of [[summary execution]]s as particular examples of violations of the rules of warfare, including the case of Muhammad Swairki, 28, a cook for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's presidential guard, who was thrown to his death, with his hands and legs tied, from a 15-story apartment building in Gaza City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/06/13/isrlpa16156.htm|title=Gaza: Armed Palestinian Groups Commit Grave Crimes|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date=13 June 2007}}</ref> Hamas security forces reportedly shoot and torture Palestinians who opposed Hamas rule in Gaza.<ref>{{Cite web |last=[[Agence France-Presse]] |date=21 April 2009 |title=Hamas must stop killings: HRW |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/04/21/2003441620 |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=[[Taipei Times]]}}</ref> In one case, a Palestinian had criticized Hamas in a conversation on the street with some friends. Later that day, more than a dozen armed men with black masks and red [[kaffiyeh]] took the man from his home, and brought him to a solitary area where they shot him three times in the lower legs and ankles. The man told [[Human Rights Watch]] that he was not politically active.<ref name="HRW1"/>

On 14 August 2009, Hamas fighters [[Battle of Rafah (2009)|stormed the Mosque]] of [[Islamist anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip|extremist]] cleric [[Abdel-Latif Moussa]].<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8202553.stm|title=Mosque gun battle rages in Gaza|date=14 August 2009|location=London}}</ref> The cleric was protected by at least 100 fighters from [[Jund Ansar Allah]] ("Army of the Helpers of God"), an [[Islamist anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip|Islamist group]] with links to [[Al-Qaeda]]. [[Battle of Rafah (2009)|The resulting battle]] left at least 13 people dead, including Moussa and six Hamas fighters, and 120 people injured.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8202746.stm|title=Gaza Islamist leader dies in raid|date=15 August 2009|publisher=BBC News|location=London}}</ref>

According to [[Palestinian president]] [[Mahmoud Abbas]], during [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]], Hamas killed more than 120 Palestinian youths for defying house arrest imposed on them by Hamas, in addition to 30–40 Palestinians killed by Hamas in extrajudicial executions after accusing them of being collaborators with Israel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/abbas-hints-pa-close-to-ending-unity-deal-with-hamas-374626|title=Abbas hints PA close to ending unity agreement with Hamas|website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> Referring to the killing of suspected collaborators, a Shin Bet official stated that "not even one" of those executed by Hamas provided any intelligence to Israel, while the Shin Bet officially "confirmed that those executed during Operation Protective Edge had all been held in prison in Gaza in the course of the hostilities".<ref name="Not collaborators">{{cite news|last1=Klein|first1=Aaron J.|last2=Ginsburg|first2=Mitch|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/none-of-alleged-gaza-collaborators-were-israeli-assets-intel-official-says/|title=None of alleged Gaza collaborators were Israeli assets, intel official says|newspaper=The Times of Israel|date=3 September 2014|access-date=23 September 2014}}</ref>