Israel's policies in Gaza in the 1980s inadvertently contributed to Hamas’s rise by supporting religious movements to counter the influence of secular Palestinian nationalist groups like the PLO. These religious factions later formed Hamas, which, by the late 1980s, emerged as a prominent Islamist organization with a commitment to Palestinian statehood, distinct from the secular PLO. Israel initially underestimated the movement’s potential but soon faced Hamas as an opposition force. Today, Hamas governs Gaza and remains in conflict with Israel, with origins tracing back to a complex interplay of local politics and evolving regional dynamics, illustrating how shifts in policy can have unintended long-term consequences.