Gaza City: As the struggle for a Palestinian state continues, Hamas, one of the main Palestinian factions, is marking its 30th anniversary with celebrations in the Gaza Strip, reports Al Jazeera. Thousands of Palestinian men, women and children, brandishing Hamas’ green flags or sporting green scarves, gathered on Thursday at the al-Katiba Square in Gaza City.

Born out of the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, in 1987, Hamas was created in response to Israel’s illegal occupation of West Bank and the Gaza strip. Its founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, was a hero to many Palestinians who were frustrated with the lack of results from the peace process. Almost blind and quadriplegic, Yassin was blamed by Israel for a series of suicide bombings and rocket attacks on Israeli targets.

In 2004, Israel killed Yassin with a missile strike near his home in Gaza. A month later another missile killed his successor, Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi.

Next came Khaled Meshaal, a survivor of a botched Israeli poisoning attempt in 1997. Under Meshaal, Hamas capitalised on its popularity and scored a surprise victory in 2006 Palestinian elections. The heightened tensions with Fatah, the main faction within the Palestinian Authority. Violent confrontations followed in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas set up a rival government.

But faced with international condemnation they struggled to govern effectively, Ahmed Youssef, a former Hamas official, told Al Jazeera.