Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has announced the dissolution of the administrative body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, in a significant symbolic move that paves the way for a technocratic committee to take over civilian administration of the war-ravaged territory. The announcement, made on Monday, 6 July 2026, comes nearly ten months after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect, and as negotiations over the second phase of the agreement, which includes Hamas's disarmament and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, remain stalled.
Hamas confirmed that Mohammed al-Farra, the head of the Government Emergency Committee, had officially submitted his resignation and that the committee had been dissolved to facilitate the transfer of administrative and governmental responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). The NCAG, a 15-member body headed by Palestinian technocrat Ali Shaath, 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”.
Despite the announcement, the development is viewed largely as a symbolic gesture with limited immediate impact on the ground. Hamas and its security forces maintain firm control of the portion of Gaza not occupied by the Israeli military, and the NCAG has remained based in Cairo for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the territory. Mkhaimar Abusada, a political expert from Gaza, told AFP that “the problem is not with dissolving their governmental committee, but with agreeing to disarmament. Hamas has not agreed to disarming itself and that is still the sticking point”. The group's statement made no mention of disarmament, one of the key requirements under the second phase of the ceasefire deal.
Ismail al-Thawabta, head of Hamas's Government Media Office, said all administrative and legal arrangements for the transfer of authority had been completed. He added that government employees remaining in their posts are technical and professional staff whose continued service is intended to prevent any administrative vacuum that could disrupt the delivery of public services. According to the Government Media Office, Gaza's government has approximately 60,000 employees who would be considered state employees prepared to work under the authority of the NCAG. Hamas also stated that civil servants across the Gaza Strip would continue carrying out their duties without interruption.
The Board of Peace said it had “taken note” of Hamas's announcement but would wait for “actions, not promises,” calling on the group to disarm in a statement on X. “The core principle remains one authority, one law and one weapon,” the board stated. Analysts suggest the move is aimed at signaling Hamas's readiness to relinquish administrative control of Gaza in line with the 20-point Gaza framework proposed by Trump, while also putting pressure on Israel as progress from the ceasefire plan has stalled. “From Hamas's perspective, this checks a few boxes,” a diplomatic source told AFP. “It shows they are moving the process forward, puts the spotlight on what they portray as Israel's failure to follow through on its commitments”.
Muhammad Shehada, a Gaza expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, described the statement as Hamas's attempt to “talk over Netanyahu's head” and appeal to Trump. “The Israelis (are) saying that Hamas is refusing to leave government and particularly security, so what they (Hamas) tried to emphasize in this statement is that they're willing to give up everything vis-a-vis governance from A to Z,” Shehada told CNN. However, he noted that even if the move succeeds diplomatically, Israel still maintains ultimate control over Gaza and could still foil the NCAG's entry. A new round of talks is expected to take place in Cairo within two days, with the aim of narrowing differences around the second stage of the fragile ceasefire agreement. For now, the question of Gaza's post-war governance remains one of the main sticking points in negotiations, with Israel rejecting any return of Hamas to power and Hamas demanding the establishment of a Palestinian administration before it will consider handing over any part of its arsenal.
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