How powerful is Hamas?

On October 7th Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel and slaughtered more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians. What is Hamas and how powerful is it? 00:00 - What is Hamas? 00:55 - Hamas’s control of Gaza 01:18 - Growth of Hamas military capacity 01:32 - The latest attack on Israel Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter: https://econ.st/3QAawvI Hamas’s attack was the bloodiest in Israel’s history: https://econ.st/3ts3qD3 A short history of Gaza: https://econ.st/408EJYR As war looms Israel calls for 1.1m people to evacuate northern Gaza: https://econ.st/3RZF1za Israel faces the danger of fighting on a second front: https://econ.st/3twmikn Will Israel’s agony and retribution end in chaos or stability?: https://econ.st/48RGPQI Netanyahu wages war and fights for his own survival: https://econ.st/3Q0xDku Hamas’s attack was an Israeli intelligence failure on multiple fronts: https://econ.st/3Q9Rgrp Brutal urban warfare awaits Israel’s army in Gaza: https://econ.st/3tw0vJJ Hamas’s carnage upends Joe Biden’s plans for the Middle East: https://econ.st/46HDHov Israeli hostages now face a terrifying ordeal: https://econ.st/3RP81ta The lessons from Hamas’s assault on Israel: https://econ.st/46zasEA A Hamas leader refuses to admit his group planned to kill civilians: https://econ.st/45xJgoy By Invitation: The crisis shows the failure of Israeli policy towards Palestinians, says Shlomo Brom: https://econ.st/3FhRzKl By Invitation: The Palestinian cause has been damaged by factionalism, argues a former prime minister: https://econ.st/3ZQ1ArS By Invitation: Nimrod Novik on the false premises and failure of vision that led to the Hamas attacks: https://econ.st/3LWaXAx 1843: People in Gaza hate the night. All they can see are explosions: https://econ.st/3PTkObo 1843: “It’s an Anne Frank situation”: an Israeli professor hides from Hamas: https://econ.st/3RO3Qh9 Watch: Israel and the Palestinians: a century of conflict: https://econ.st/3ZS68hf Listen: With no electricity, limited internet and dwindling food supplies, what is life like in Gaza?: https://econ.st/3PRoaM9 Listen: An interview with a senior political leader of Hamas: https://econ.st/3rMPIua Listen: Gaza is now under siege. What else is Israel planning?: https://econ.st/3Qf8aVN Listen: Israel has suffered the biggest terror attack in its history. How will it respond?: https://econ.st/45jCVNj