Hamas, the internationally designated terrorist organization, has ruled the Gaza Strip since it won the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) election on Jan. 25, 2006. Last month, it attacked Israel’s civilian population for 11 days, shelling them with at least 4,360 rockets.

Hamas is the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which was founded in Egypt in 1928. The MB is a global, radical Sunni terrorist organization, designated as such by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Muslim Brotherhood funds Hamas, as do Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and anti-Israel NGOs and charities operating in Europe and North America.

Hamas’s primary supporter, though, is the Shi’ite Islamic Republic of Iran, which provides funding, training and arms, as well as logistical and political support. Since 1984, Iran has been designated by the United States as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations are active all over the world, from the Middle East to Africa, and from Europe to South and North America.

So, who declared war on Israel? Was it Hamas? The MB? Iran? All the above? Why did they declare war on Israel? Why now?

To answer these questions, we at Save The West identified the four causes of the war and six different aspects of it.

1) The U.S. transition from President Trump’s strong policy against Palestinian terrorism to President Biden’s more accommodating policy clearly emboldened Hamas. Moreover, Iran, which is now negotiating a renewed nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries, likely thought an attack on Israel by its Hamas proxy would improve its negotiating leverage.

2) Israel is also going through a transition, from a strong Netanyahu-led government to either a weak and unstable pro-Palestinian and left-leaning government, or its fifth election in two years. In either case, it conveys the appearance of Israeli weakness.

3) Iran wanted to test Israel and its military, as well as its Iron Dome missile protection system.

4) Iran also wanted to test America and its willingness to stand behind its only real ally in the Middle East.

1) Hamas, which has been challenging the Palestinian Authority for the allegiance of the local Arabs since 2006, wanted to demonstrate its power after the postponement of the first election in 15 years by P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas.

2) Hamas encouraged an Israeli Arab uprising during the 11-day war, particularly in the mixed Jewish-Arab cities of Lod, Ramla, Jerusalem, Jaffa and Akko.

3) Hamas launched a direct war on the Israeli home front, shelling cities and villages, hospitals, schools and kindergartens with more than 4,360 rockets. Some of them hit not only Israeli Jews, but also Israeli Arabs, who account for nearly 20 percent of Israel’s population. Luckily, more than 90 percent of the rockets were destroyed by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Ironically, 600 Hamas rockets fell within Gaza, killing local civilians, whom Hamas uses as human shields.

4) Hamas and its MB parent organization activated their members in Europe and America to launch massive anti-Semitic attacks on local Jewish populations.

5) Dictatorships (China) and authoritarian governments (Russia, Turkey and Qatar), as well as the corrupt United Nations, pressured Israel to cease its counterattack against Hamas. After 11 days, the Biden administration also pressured Israel to stop its retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas hides its military infrastructure, thus preventing Israel from further weakening Hamas.

6) Enemies of western civilization, such as communists, Islamists, globalists and isolationists, supported Hamas directly or indirectly in their quest to destroy defenders of western civilization like Israel.

Hamas gets a “D” because much, though not all, of its infrastructure was destroyed.

Israel gets a “B” for the damage it inflicted on Hamas infrastructure and its operatives. But Israel, apparently, failed to prevent Hamas’s activities among Israeli-Arab groups. Once they began rioting, the local police were quickly reinforced by the Border Police and the Israel Security Agency, who collectively arrested well over 1,000 domestic Hamas-affiliated terrorists.

America gets a “D” because, although it supported Israel during its defensive war against Hamas, the support lasted for only 11 days. After that, the United States put enormous pressure on Israel to end the fighting. This premature end prevented Israel from completely shattering the terrorist bases and installations in the Gaza Strip, which was clearly a strategic long term interest of the United States.

Iran gets a “C” because its Hamas proxy has been weakened. However, Iran has its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon to continue to threaten Israel.

The United Nations gets an “F,” which it always gets, for not unequivocally defending democracies against terror organizations.

Western civilization (Democracies) gets a “D,” because it didn’t fully support Israel morally and politically. Democracies failed to threaten and punish Israel’s enemies for their war crimes.

So, while Israel won, once again, the physical war against the radical Islamists of Hamas, the lack of more forceful support by the Biden administration and other democracies will allow Hamas and its sponsors to renew their efforts to destroy Israel. And they promise not to stop there. If their past attacks on Israel are any indication, they will attack again. It’s our duty to stop them.