Hamas announces dissolution of Gaza governing body

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - GAZA CITY — Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, paving the way for transferring power to a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule in the Palestinian territory.

In a statement, the Gaza Government Media Office said it completed the administrative and legal arrangements necessary for the handover of the administration of the enclave to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).

It said the preparations had been presented to a national team representing Palestinian factions and political forces, the Higher Committee of Clans and Tribes, and civil society organizations, in the presence of a UN observer.

According to the statement, the acting head of the Government Follow-up Committee and chairman of the Emergency Committee, Mohammed Abdul Khaleq al-Farra, submitted his resignation, while the Emergency Committee was formally dissolved to facilitate the administrative transition.

The move marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from Fatah in 2007 after winning legislative elections the previous year.

Since a ceasefire took effect in Gaza last October between Hamas and Israel, the group has repeatedly said it is prepared to step aside from day-to-day governance, but the thorny issue of its disarmament remains unresolved.

“The head of the government’s emergency committee Mohammed Al-Farra has officially submitted his resignation,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of Hamas’ government media office told AFP.

“He has also decided to dissolve the committee to facilitate the administrative and governmental transition to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG),” it added.

The NCAG, currently based in Cairo, was created by the Board of Peace that US President Donald Trump established when he brokered the ceasefire in October 2025.

“Hamas has taken a new step in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip, in order to remove any pretexts for the occupation, which continues its aggression and war of extermination,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.

“We hope for the swift entry of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and Hamas affirms its readiness to hand over governmental responsibilities to the committee to ensure its success.”

A Hamas official earlier told AFP that the group had already informed other Palestinian factions about its decision at a recent meeting in Cairo.

“The factions welcomed Hamas’s decision, describing it as a serious step toward enabling the National Committee to take up its governing role,” the official said.

The dissolution of the 15-member Hamas body paves the way for the NCAG, headed by Palestinian technocrat Ali Shaath, to assume administrative responsibilities in the territory.

“We affirm that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary resources and capabilities are available,” Ali Shaath, head of the committee, wrote on X.

The NCAG has remained based in Cairo for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the war-devastated territory of 2.1 million people.

Mkhaimar Abusada, a political expert from Gaza, told AFP that Hamas’s move was still a “symbolic gesture.”

“The problem is not with dissolving their governmental committee, but with agreeing to disarmament,” he said.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions have held several rounds of talks in Cairo with mediators to narrow differences, particularly over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire that includes the group’s disarmament.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

The transition to the second phase, which was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.

Israeli forces have actually expanded their presence in the territory in recent months, taking control of nearly 70 percent.

Meanwhile Hamas is demanding the establishment of a Palestinian administration before it will consider handing over any part of its arsenal.

The question of Gaza’s post-war governance also remains one of the main sticking points in negotiations on implementing phase two of the truce.

Israel rejects any return of Hamas to power, but also rejects a direct takeover by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority at this stage.

Meanwhile, Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed at least six Palestinians and wounded more than 20, according to medical sources, as casualties continue to rise in the territory despite a “ceasefire” declared months ago.

At least two people were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle along al-Rashid Street in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Monday.

Separately, two other Palestinians were killed in an attack on a tent sheltering displaced people in al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis.

A married couple were also killed in an Israeli drone attack on an apartment in Gaza City, according to a source at al-Shifa Hospital.

Overall, the attacks wounded at least 22 people.

The latest killings come despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to a United States-brokered “ceasefire” in October last year. Although large-scale fighting has largely paused, Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the territory have continued.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli army violations of the “ceasefire” have killed at least 1,072 people and wounded 3,463 others since the truce took effect.

The latest casualties bring the overall death toll in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 to at least 73,098, with 173,571 others injured, the ministry said.