Hamas dissolves Gaza governing body under U.S.-backed plan

Hamas announced Monday that it is dissolving the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, a move meant to clear the way for a technocratic Palestinian committee to take over day-to-day administration of the devastated enclave.

The Hamas-run government said Mohammed al-Farra, head of its Government Emergency Committee, had submitted his resignation and announced the committee’s dissolution “as a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process.” The emergency body had overseen Gaza since October 2023.

Hamas said it was ready to transfer authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, which describes itself as a “transitional, technocratic, and apolitical Palestinian committee.” The committee was established in January under President Donald Trump’s “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”

Trump’s plan, approved in October by Israel and Hamas, calls for Gaza’s governing committee to be overseen by the president’s “Board of Peace.” The board, chaired by Trump, met last month in Cyprus to discuss peace efforts in Gaza.

In a statement Monday, the Board of Peace said it had “taken note of the announcement,” but added that its “assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.” It said the standard would be “one authority, one law and one weapon” in Gaza — a single governing body enforcing one law with one armed force under its authority.

Ali Shaath, who leads the NCAG, welcomed the announcement and said the committee was “fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary resources and capabilities are available.” He also said a successful transfer would require “a single law with a clear mandate, and a single armed force under the authority of this single entity” in Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Agence France-Presse the announcement marked a “new step” by Hamas “in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip.” He said the decision was made “in order to remove any pretexts for the occupation, which continues its aggression and war of extermination.”

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative overseeing the U.S.-founded Board of Peace for Gaza, said the decision “underscores the importance of bringing the roadmap discussions to a successful conclusion.” He called it “the bridge between declarations and implementation,” adding that the NCAG could assume its duties once agreement is reached on remaining implementation provisions.

The move follows repeated statements by Hamas, since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel took effect in Gaza last October, that it was prepared to step aside from civilian governance. But the question of disarmament remains unresolved. Israel has said Hamas must disarm for a lasting peace deal to proceed, while Hamas’s announcement did not mention weapons or security control.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, said the dissolution should not be mistaken for a full surrender of power. Hamas is “giving up the visible burden of governing a devastated Gaza, but it is not yet giving up the instruments that allow it to shape what happens next,” he said. “I would not confuse the dissolution of an administrative body with the surrender of power.”

Al Jazeera, citing its reporting from Gaza City, said the move appears politically significant but does not mean Hamas is relinquishing its political or military role, only stepping back from direct civilian government.

Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007, when its fighters seized control from the rival Fatah movement after Hamas won legislative elections the previous year. Israel has ruled out allowing Hamas to govern Gaza and has also rejected, at this stage, a direct takeover by the Palestinian Authority, which controls the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reported.

More than 72,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to Palestinian health officials, and much of the enclave has been destroyed since Israel launched its assault after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Hundreds of thousands of people remain in tent camps as they await rebuilding under a ceasefire that has been marked by continued deadly Israeli military airstrikes.