Israel under attack: What we know about Hamas

Israel declared war on Hamas on Sunday following a surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group based in Gaza that included the taking of military and civilian hostages.

The surprise weekend attack killed more than 700 people in Israel, including at least 260 at a crowded music festival that became the scene of one of the country’s worst civilian massacres.

After initially being caught off-guard, Israeli security forces have pounded the Gaza Strip with retaliatory strikes. U.S. officials say they expect Israel to soon launch a ground incursion as violence escalates in the conflict-ridden region, according to media reports.

Here’s what we know about the war, based on multiple media accounts.

Who is fighting?

Hamas is the largest Palestinian militant group and has fired rockets from Gaza at Israeli cities in the fighting.

It was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the Gaza and the West Bank and has controlled Gaza since winning elections in 2007. It's committed to the destruction of Israel and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, the United Kingdom and other nations. Hamas is backed by Iran, which funds it and provides weapons and training.

More: Timeline of conflict: Why the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian fighting is among the most brutal in years

Israeli Defense Forces, known as the IDF, is the combined armed forces of Israel, including army, navy and air force. It was established in 1948, two weeks after Israel declared itself a state.

Why did Hamas attack Israel now?

Hamas officials cited long-simmering tensions including a dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.

In recent years, Israeli religious nationalists have increased their visits to the compound. Last week, during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli activists visited the site, prompting condemnation from Hamas and accusations that Jews were praying there in violation of the status quo agreement.

Tensions escalated with recent violent Palestinian protests. In negotiations with Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations, Hamas has pushed for Israeli concessions that could loosen the 17-year blockade on the enclave and help halt a worsening financial crisis, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

What’s the disputed territory at the root of the war?

Gaza, also known as the Gaza Strip, is the home to about 2 million Palestinians, many of them displaced after leaving or being driven from Israel during the War of Independence in 1948.

The West Bank, an area smaller than Delaware, is east of Israel. About 3 million Palestinians live there, most of them Muslim Arabs. The West Bank also is home to a number of Jewish holy sites, which are visited by thousands of pilgrims every year.

East Jerusalem is a key part of the divided, disputed city. Jerusalem was divided in two after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Israel controlled the western portion and Jordan controlled the east. Israel captured the entire city in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Though Jerusalem's ownership is disputed, Israeli officials claim it as the undivided capital of Israel. In 2017, the Trump administration moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital.

Yet most nations do not acknowledge Jerusalem as belonging to either Israelis or Palestinians.

What has been the response from the United States and other nations?

In the wake of the attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel, according to media reports.

The deployment also includes a host of ships and warplanes and reflects the concern that the United States has in trying to keep the conflict from escalating.

The State Department confirmed on Monday that at least nine U.S. citizens were killed in the attacks, according to media reports.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting about the situation and took no immediate action on a U.S. demand that its 15 members condemn the Hamas attack.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador told The Associated Press that long-stalled negotiations between the two sides need to resume. China’s ambassador said it was important to come back to a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side.

What has been the reaction to the attack in Volusia-Flagler?

The Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties will host a vigil and memorial for Israel at 6 p.m. Monday at Temple Beth El in Ormond Beach.

Speakers will include Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington, local Jewish and Christian clergy, Jewish community leadership and Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood, according to a press release.

The event will include "prayers for the State of Israel, and for those murdered, injured and held hostage by Hamas terrorists," the release stated.

Temple Beth El is located at 579 N. Nova Road.

On social media, Chitwood on Sunday posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was “stepping up our patrols around Jewish places of worship, neighborhoods and schools. The recent terroristic activities in Israel have been described as their 9/11. We need to remember the fear that attack instilled on our Nation.”

In Flagler County, Sheriff Rick Staly posted on X that he and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office “stand with the Jewish community,” following the attack.

“As a proactive measure to ensure the safety of members of the Jewish community around the county, Sheriff Staly has directed increased patrols near synagogues in Flagler County,” the post stated. “Nobody in our community deserves to feel unsafe.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Israel-Hamas war. What we know so far