Thousands took to the streets of Gaza this week to mourn the death of the co-founder of Hamas , who was buried with an assault rifle across his chest . Hammad Al-Hasanat co-founded the terrorist group on December 14 , 1987 , with its spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin . He was 80 years old when he died on Monday from health complications . Hammad Al-Hasanat ( pictured ) co-founded the terrorist group on December 14 , 1987 , with its spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin . The UK , Australia , Canada , Israel , Japan and the United States consider Hamas to be a terrorist organisation . Thousands took to the streets of Gaza this week to mourn the death of Hammad Al-Hasanat . Pictures of his funeral in the Nuseirat refugee camp show armed Islamic militants carrying Al-Hasanat on stretcher through the streets . Hamas ' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that Hassanat 'was a brilliant leader of the Islamic movement , and one of the founders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas movement in Palestine ' . The UK , Australia , Canada , Israel , Japan and the United States consider Hamas to be a terrorist organisation , while Iran , Russia , Turkey , China and Qatar consider it to be a legitimate political organisation . Hamas ' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that Hassanat 'was a brilliant leader of the Islamic movement ' Hamas has held sway in Gaza since 2007 . Israel said on Monday it has busted an Israeli-Palestinian smuggling ring that funneled iron , electronic equipment and other prohibited materials to Gaza , bypassing Israel 's stringent border security to help Hamas rebuild its militant infrastructure following last year 's war . Nine people in the ring , among them three Jewish Israelis who own companies that sell the materials , were charged with assisting an enemy in wartime , terror financing and fraud . The remaining ring members were said to be Palestinians from Gaza . Hamas , a bitter enemy of Israel 's , suffered heavy losses in the 50-day war , in which Israel carried out some 5,000 airstrikes throughout Gaza . Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel . The fighting killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 72 people on the Israeli side . Hamas is suffering from international isolation and a cash crunch and has been trying to rebuild the coastal territory since the fighting ended .
Hammad Al-Hasanat co-founded the terrorist group on December 14 , 1987 . He was 80 years old when he died on Monday from health complications . Hamas ' PM said Hassanat 'was a brilliant leader of the Israelis movement ' It is considered a terrorist group by the UK , Australia , Canada and the US .