Gaza City, Palestinian Territories. Hamas said on Monday it had dissolved its de facto government oversight body in Gaza and was ready to hand over administration to a group of Palestinian technocrats, as it urged Israel to honour other parts of a stalled U.S.-backed peace plan.
Administrative change announced
Hamas said the move involved dissolving the body overseeing ministries in Gaza, which had operated for more than a decade. The group said the ministries themselves and the staff it had appointed would remain in place.
In a press conference in Gaza City on Monday, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, said the head of the “Government Emergency Committee” oversight body had resigned and that the body itself had been dissolved.
Thawabta said the step was “a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process” to the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
Peace plan and monitoring
The promise to end the body overseeing ministries was a key part of the plan for post-war Gaza set out by U.S. President Donald Trump after the start of a fragile ceasefire with Israel in October.
The Trump-appointed Board of Peace, set up to monitor the plan, said it had taken note of Hamas’s move. It added that “ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza”.
Security and ceasefire disputes
Hamas said it would still oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control following the U.S.-brokered truce.
There was no immediate comment from Israel. Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and failing to implement other parts of the plan, which calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza as Hamas lays down its weapons.
Hamas has refused to disarm until Israel halts attacks in Gaza. Medics in the enclave said the latest such attack killed five people on Monday. Israel says its attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire have been aimed at thwarting militant threats.
Conditions in Gaza
The coastal enclave remains in ruins more than 2-1/2 years after the latest Gaza conflict was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 raids on Israel.