Hamas is an internationally designated Palestinian terrorist organization that controls Gaza, whose explicitly stated mission is the murder of Jews, “obliteration” of Israel, and its replacement with a Taliban-like theocracy. Since it seized control of Gaza in a violent coup in 2007, it has launched over 18,000 mortars and rockets into Israeli communities. Hamas booby-trapped thousands of homes and fired 597 rockets from civilian centers, including 260 from schools, 160 from religious sites, 127 from cemeteries, and over 50 from hospitals.20 Hamas used Palestinians as human shields, a war crime according to the Geneva Convention. Hamas urged residents to ignore Israel’s warnings to move to safer areas because of imminent attacks. In some cases, Hamas operatives violently attacked residents who sought safer areas. Hamas admitted to using child labor to construct cross-border tunnels. According to Hamas officials, at least 160 children were killed while building the terror tunnels.
