Hamas on Monday announced that it was dissolving its governing body in Gaza as it’s pushing for the implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan amid Israel’s constant violations of the ceasefire deal signed in October 2025.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement that Mohammed al-Farra, the head of the governing “Emergency Committee,” has “decided to submit his official resignation from his position and to announce the dissolution of the Government Emergency Committee, as a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process.”
Hamas said the purpose of the dissolution was to begin the transfer of governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a group of Palestinians who, under President Trump’s Gaza plan, are supposed to take over the governance of the Palestinian territory. However, Israel has been blocking the NCAG, and there’s no sign that it will allow the group to enter following Hamas’s announcement.
Israel has been demanding Hamas’s disarmament to move forward with the Gaza plan, while Hamas has insisted it won’t discuss the issue until Israel actually implements the October 2025 ceasefire deal. Despite claims from US and Israeli officials, the ceasefire deal didn’t commit Hamas to disarming, as that issue and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza were meant to be worked out in follow-up negotiations and to coincide with the NCAG taking over Gaza and the deployment of an international force, which never came to fruition.
Hamas’s move is seen as an effort to get mediators and the so-called “Board of Peace” to pressure Israel to actually implement the deal and stop its daily attacks in Gaza, which have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the agreement was signed. Israel has also ramped up ground incursions and is capturing more territory, another clear violation of the agreement.
“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,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, according to AFP.
“We hope for the swift entry of the [NCAG], and Hamas affirms its readiness to hand over governmental responsibilities to the committee to ensure its success,” Qassem added. Hamas officials said that its Interior Ministry would still be responsible for policing and security in Gaza so as not to create a “security vacuum.”
The US-led “Board of Peace” said that it “took note” of Hamas’s announcement and said that its “assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”
