"Josh Lipowsky, research analyst for the Counter Extremism Project, told the Washington Examiner that much of what Hamas posts on the platform is available on its website but that when its website is down, it provides it the ability to continue its 'propaganda push.'

'Hamas utilizes Telegram channels in Arabic and English to further spread its propaganda through distribution of the group’s press releases and statements to thousands of subscribers to those channels. Much of what appears on the channels is taken directly from Hamas’s website, offering another direct method of pushing out its releases to followers who, given the nature of Telegram, have specifically sought out the group,' Lipowsky said.

'As of earlier this afternoon, Hamas’s main website, both the Arabic and English versions, is down, hindering Hamas’s ability to push out its message at a time it is trying to control the narrative of its vicious attack,' he added. 'The Telegram channels provide Hamas with redundancies to continue their propaganda push across platforms.'"

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "As the scale and barbarity of the Hamas terrorist assault on Israel begins to unfold, to no-one’s surprise Iran has leant its formal support to the insurgents. While thousands of rockets rain down on Israeli civilians and and Iran’s proxies pull men women and children out of their homes — murdering them in the streets — it’s worth remembering that the United Kingdom still has not proscribed that regime’s state terror exporters, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps."

"'The group’s ideology blends Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River...Hamas views the entirety of the land of Mandate Palestine—excluding the 80 percent of Palestine that became modern-day Jordan—as an Islamic birthright that has been usurped. To that end, Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has dedicated itself to violently seeking Israel’s destruction,' says think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) about Hamas."

"The PIJ is a Palestinian terrorist organisation committed to the destruction of Israel, says think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP).

'PIJ is dedicated to eradicating Israel and establishing an autonomous Islamic Palestinian state in the lands currently comprising Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. PIJ believes that the land of Palestine is consecrated for Islam, that Israel usurped Palestine, and, therefore, that Israel is an affront to God and Islam and that Palestine’s re-conquest is a holy task,' says CEP."

"Think tank Counter Extremism Project says, 'The group’s ideology blends Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River...Hamas’s preferred methods include suicide bombings, rocket and mortar attacks, shootings, and kidnappings.'"

"Tensions in Israel have soared recently, following several days of intense clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police.

On this week’s edition of 'The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green,' Hans Jakob Schindler, the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, says terrorism could complicate the situation."