In a landmark political shift, 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 assume civilian administrative control of the war-devastated territory.
The head of Hamas’ government emergency committee, Mohammed al-Farra, formally submitted his resignation and dissolved the committee to facilitate the transition of administrative and governmental responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a body created under the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump between Hamas and Israel in October 2025.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group had taken the step so it would no longer be in charge of Gaza, in order to remove any pretexts for continued Israeli aggression. Hamas affirmed its readiness to hand over governmental responsibilities to the NCAG to ensure its success. The NCAG is headed by Palestinian technocrat Ali Shaath, though it has remained based outside Gaza for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry.
Hamas has governed Gaza since it seized control from the Fatah group in 2007, following its victory in legislative elections the previous year. Since the ceasefire took effect last October, the group had repeatedly signalled its willingness to step aside from day-to-day governance, though the thorny issue of its disarmament has remained unresolved and continues to stall progress on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
The dissolution was welcomed by other Palestinian factions who, following meetings in Cairo, described it as a serious step toward enabling the NCAG to begin governing. Israeli forces, however, continue to hold over 80% of Gazan territory, complicating the path to any effective civilian transition.
