Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) was created in 1987, won the elections of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006, and governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. The attacks on October 7th 2023 and the subsequent war on Gaza have turned the international spotlight on them as well as on Palestine. What then are Hamas’s history, beliefs and political agenda? This is an indispensable introduction to the controversial political, social, religious and military organization.

Looking beyond the caricatures of Hamas’s leaders and cadre, Palestinian writer Khaled Hroub reveals a group largely guided by pragmatic aims. Asking the reader to re-think what they know, he provides the key facts missing from news reports, and an incisive analysis of their relationship with Israel and the West.

This third edition of the popular guide is fully updated, including a new introduction and chapters on Hamas and the Arab Spring, Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’, and the events of October 7th.

Khaled Hroub is a Palestinian, born in a refugee camp in Bethlehem. He is currently Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Northwestern University in Qatar, and former director of the Arab Media Project at Cambridge University.