Over the past three months, Hamas has made world headlines — not for good.
The group, which rules the government of Gaza, launched a multi-front attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,000 civilians. The complex assault stunned Israel which launched a punishing war with the aim of dislodging Hamas from power in Gaza, destroying its military capabilities and freeing hostages in Gaza. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 10,000 civilians.
The Oct. 7 attack was coordinated and led by Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military arm, but other armed factions participated, and have been fighting against Israel in the ongoing war. Here is a look at the main armed groups operating in Gaza:
Qassam Brigades (Hamas)
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Qassam Brigades) is the military arm of the Hamas group, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Qassam Brigades has managed to increasingly enhance its military capacity in recent years
Founded in 1991, Qassam Brigades is the most powerful and best-equipped armed group in Gaza. The group, which has fought several wars against Israel, has long been designated a terrorist organization in most Western countries.
Qassam Brigades has managed to increasingly enhance its military capacity in recent years, including the development of missiles, rockets and drones. Its missiles have the range to reach Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other Israeli cities, but are regularly intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system. Hamas has built a network of underground tunnels it uses to launch attacks on Israel.
The group is estimated to have 30,000 fighters, commanded by Mohammed Deif. The shadowy commander, who sits atop Israel’s list of most wanted Hamas leaders, escaped numerous assassination attempts by Israel. Israel says he is the mastermind of the October attack, along with Yahia Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza.
Sinwar was freed from an Israeli prison in 2011 along with over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, in a deal that saw the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped and taken hostage by Qassam Brigades in 2006.
Al-Quds Brigades (Islamic Jihad)
The al-Quds Brigades, or Saraya al-Quds, is the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement. It is the second largest armed group in Gaza, behind Hamas’ Qassam Brigades.
The al-Quds Brigades was founded in 2000 during the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation. At the time, the group claimed many attacks on Israel, including suicide bombings and ambushing Jewish settlements.
Among the Palestinian militant groups, it is historically closest to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah. The U.S. State Department says Iran funds the Islamic Jihad and its armed wing.
Islamic Jihad’s armed wing has its own arsenal of missiles and rockets along with underground tunnels. Its missiles can also reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It has an estimated 11,000 fighters in its ranks.
It has fought brief wars against Israel, rounds of violence that Hamas didn’t take part in. That includes a short war in 2022 during which the group fired 1,000 rockets on Israel.
The al-Quds Brigades is the most active armed group in the occupied West Bank, mainly in Nablus and Jenin refugee camp, which is dubbed as “little Gaza.” Israel’s military has repeatedly raided Jenin camp, killing operatives belonging to “Jenin Battalion,” an affiliate of the al-Quds Brigades.
Al-Nasser Brigades (Popular Resistance Committee)
The al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, or al-Nasser Brigades, is the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. It’s considered the third largest armed group in Gaza, with several thousand fighters and an arsenal of dozens of rockets and mortar shells.
The al-Nasser Brigades group was founded in 2000, and took part in the second Palestinian Intifada. It includes fighters from different political backgrounds, including members of the Fatah movement who opposed the Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority.
The al-Nasser Brigades enjoys close ties with both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
The group claimed responsibility for several attacks against Israel in the occupied West Bank, and from Gaza. The group also claimed an attack on a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Gaza in Oct. 2003, which killed three U.S. diplomats and wounded one.
The group enjoys close ties with both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. It also joined the Qassam Brigades in its 2006 attack in which it captured Shalit, the Israeli soldier.
The group claims to have also participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was also founded with the second Intifada in 2000 from smaller cells with links to the Fatah movement. It has since then spread across the West Bank and Gaza.
In 2007, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the armed faction, and absorbed most of its members in the Palestinian Authority security agencies.
However, some hawkish operatives have kept operating under the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades umbrella. They have been weakened in the West Bank following a series of crackdown campaigns by the Palestinian Authority security forces.
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades is the military arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, PFLP. The PFLP was originally a Marxist group founded by prominent Palestinian politician George Habash.
The brigades has been named after Habash successor, Abu Ali Mustafa, who was assassinated by Israel in 2001. The group responded that year by assassinating Israel’s then agriculture minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
The PFLP is better known for its 1979 hijacking of an AirFrance flight, carrying 248 passengers, mostly Israelis. The group diverted the flight to Entebbe in Uganda.
Israel later rescued most of the hostages in a commando operation. The rescue operation left three hostages dead, along with an Israeli soldier: Yoni Netanyahu, the older brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
