Hamas Dissolves Gaza Government, But Israel Blocks New Leaders

Hamas announced Monday it is dissolving its emergency government in Gaza and handing control to a committee of experts. The move is a key step in a U.S.-backed plan to end the war, but it may be mostly symbolic because Israel refuses to let the new leaders enter Gaza. The Islamist group said it is ceding power to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). This body was created in January as part of the second phase of former President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. The plan was meant to end the war, which began over two years ago and has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to local authorities. Hamas stated it is dissolving its government and that its chief, Muhammad Abdul Jaliq Al Farra, has resigned. The group said it is transferring management of the territory to the NCAG, which is led by Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, a former senior official of the Palestinian Authority. The committee is made up of technocrats from the occupied West Bank and Gaza. However, the Israeli government has blocked the NCAG from entering Gaza since it was formed. Israel continues to attack the strip daily, killing 1,072 Palestinians since last October. It has also expanded its occupation of Gaza from just over 50% to more than 60% and plans to take 70% of the territory, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shaath said on his X account that his committee is “fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the conditions and necessary measures for its operation are in place.” By dissolving its government, Hamas appears to be trying to pressure Israel to accept the NCAG and move the peace plan forward. The group said in a statement that it has taken “practical measures” and has “repeatedly and unequivocally declared its full readiness to hand over the reins of government.” A Hamas source told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the group believes “Netanyahu does not want to move forward” with the Trump plan. But Hamas is trying to present a more flexible stance to mediators and to Nickolay Mladenov, the U.S.-appointed envoy linking Trump’s Peace Board and the NCAG. Hamas has called on “all parties to expedite the immediate entry of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza” and allow it to take over. The group said its “technical and professional staff” will stay in their jobs to ensure services continue and avoid a “vacuum.” This means no Hamas politicians or affiliated officials will remain in their posts. But the announcement did not mention Hamas’s military wing. Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas. The U.S. plan requires that “all military, terrorist, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons production facilities, be destroyed” and that “a demilitarization process of Gaza be carried out under the supervision of independent observers.” Hamas has been negotiating with mediators in Cairo over a way to hand over its weapons. It refuses to give them directly to Israeli forces but is willing to give them to a Palestinian actor or a representative chosen in the talks. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected Hamas’s announcement, accusing the group of trying to “deceive the international community.” He wrote on X that “Hamas’s apparent willingness to make room for a technocratic government is designed to avoid its own disarmament.” He added, “As long as Hamas keeps its weapons, any civil government would, of course, operate according to what Hamas dictates.” Saar concluded: “Israel insists on the full implementation of the Trump plan, whose fundamental principles are the disarmament of Hamas and all other terrorist organizations and the total demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”