Hamas
Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood that emerged in the Gaza Strip in the late 1980s. The group’s ideology blends Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state.
Hamas/Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The Hamas-Israel War is considered the deadliest period of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with widespread rocket exchanges and destruction affecting civilians on both sides. As of December 2025, the Hamas-Israel War has expanded across the region, with Israel carrying out military strikes on Hamas-linked targets in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Qatar. Ceasefire negotiations remain ongoing as both sides continue to disagree on terms involving disarmament and troop withdrawal. A temporary, albeit fragile, ceasefire has been in place since October 2025, offering a reduction in large-scale violence and the release of some hostages.
Leaders
Chief of Political Bureau, former deputy leader of Hamas, Hamas’s former prime minister of Gaza, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (deceased)
Head of Hamas’s Diaspora Office; Deputy Leader; Former Chief of Hamas’s Political Bureau
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a Palestinian Islamist terrorist group sponsored by Iran and Syria. Founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, PIJ is the second-largest terrorist group in Gaza today (after Hamas).
Muslim Brotherhood in the Palestinian Territories
The Muslim Brotherhood’s presence in the Palestinian territories dates back to the 1960s, when the group established a set of charities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Friends and Enablers of Hamas: State Actors
This resource details how efforts to degrade Hamas politically and militarily are seriously undermined by ongoing support the group receives from at least six national governments: Iran, Qatar, Turkey, North Korea, Russia, and China.
News and Blogs
The Counter Extremism Project Presents
Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust
Location:
Eisenhower Theater
Tuesday January 27, 2026 7:30p.m.
Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Counter Extremism Project's ARCHER at House 88 presents a landmark concert of music composed in ghettos and death camps, performed in defiance of resurgent antisemitism. Curated with world renowned composer, conductor, and musicologist Francesco Lotoro, the program restores classical, folk, and popular works, many written on scraps of paper or recalled from memory, to public consciousness. Featuring world and U.S. premieres from Lotoro's archive, this concert honors a repertoire that endured against unimaginable evil.