Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist political organization with a military wing known as the al-Qassam Brigades. Founded in 1987, it has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.

In the news report, Israeli authorities accused Hamas of imposing taxes on merchants’ imports and threatening vendors, saying those concerns led merchants to suspend shipments. Gaza’s private truckers’ union disputed that account and said Israel had imposed the restrictions. The claims about Hamas were allegations, not established facts in the report.