Hamas said Monday it had dissolved its de facto governing body in Gaza and was prepared to transfer administration of the enclave to a committee of Palestinian technocrats, in a move aimed at reviving progress on a stalled U.S.-backed peace plan.
The decision to dismantle the oversight body that has managed Hamas-run ministries for more than a decade was one of the key requirements in the post-war Gaza framework advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump after a fragile ceasefire with Israel began in October.
However, Hamas said the ministries themselves would continue operating, with existing staff remaining in place. The group also said it would continue to oversee security and policing in areas of Gaza still under its control under the U.S.-brokered truce.
The Trump-appointed Board of Peace, which was established to monitor implementation of the plan, said it had taken note of Hamas’s announcement but warned that the move would be judged by what follows.
“Ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza,” the board said.
Israel did not immediately comment on the announcement. Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and failing to implement other parts of the plan, including provisions that call for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza as Hamas lays down its weapons.
Hamas has refused to disarm until Israel stops its attacks in Gaza. Medics in the enclave said the latest Israeli strikes killed five people on Monday. Israel says its post-ceasefire operations in Gaza are aimed at preventing militant threats.
Speaking at a press conference in Gaza City, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, said the head of the “Government Emergency Committee” had resigned and that the committee had been formally dissolved.
He said the move was intended to show “the seriousness of these measures” and to facilitate the administrative transition to the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
Under the Trump-backed plan, Hamas is expected to hand governing responsibilities to the National Committee, a body made up of Palestinian technocrats.
Ali Shaath, who heads the 15-member committee, said it was ready to assume responsibility in Gaza once the necessary resources and conditions were in place.
“The fundamental requirements for the commission’s success are the existence of one authority and one law under a clear reference framework, and one weapon subject to that authority,” Shaath wrote on Facebook.
The announcement comes as Gaza remains devastated more than two and a half years after the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Israeli forces still control more than 60% of Gaza, patrolling areas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as a buffer zone designed to prevent future Hamas attacks. Netanyahu has said Israel will not withdraw from the territory.
Israel’s aerial and ground campaign has displaced nearly Gaza’s entire population of around 2 million people. Most now live in tents or damaged buildings along a narrow coastal strip.
Gaza health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed a couple inside an apartment in Gaza City’s Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood on Monday. Medics said two other strikes, one on a tent sheltering displaced people and another on a vehicle in Khan Younis, killed three more people and wounded at least 20 others.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported strikes.