GAZA CITY: Hamas announced on Monday the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to administer the territory.
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's government media office, said.
"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)," he 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 said.
The NCAG said it was ready to govern Gaza. "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 fundamental requirements for the committee's success are a single authority, a single law with a clear mandate, and a single armed force under the authority of this single entity."
The Board of Peace said it had taken note of Hamas's announcement and called for all weapons in Gaza to be under the control of the NCAG.
"The core principle remains one authority, one law and one weapon," it wrote on X.
"This means the consolidation of all weapons under the control of the NCAG as provided for in the Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2802."
The NCAG has been based in Cairo for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the war-devastated territory of over two million people.
Mkhaimar Abusada, a political expert from Gaza, said that Hamas's move was a "symbolic gesture". "The problem is not with dissolving their governmental committee, but with agreeing to disarmament," he said.
"Hamas has not agreed to disarming itself and that is still the sticking point." - AFP
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