Hamas dissolved its de facto government in Gaza on Monday, July 6, signaling readiness to hand over administration to a U.S.-backed panel of Palestinian technocrats. While a Trump-appointed board vowed to judge the move by actions rather than promises, Israeli officials dismissed the announcement as a “stunt” aimed at avoiding disarmament.
The surprise move targets a governing apparatus that has overseen ministries in the coastal enclave for more than a decade. Set against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire brokered by the United States following the conflict triggered by the October 7, 2023 raids on Israel, the dissolution is a central pillar of a post-war transition plan for a civilian-ruled Gaza. Hamas said its move is in line with agreed arrangements,
though Israel insists on the full implementation of Trump’s plan, including Hamas laying down its weapons.
Gaza City Press Conference Details Oversight Dissolution
During a press conference in Gaza City on Monday, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, announced that the oversight body known as the Government Emergency Committee
had dissolved itself and that its head had resigned. Thawabta stated that this was a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process.
Despite dismantling the top-level emergency committee, Hamas maintained that the ministries themselves and the staff it had appointed would stay in place. The militant group also stated it would still oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control following the U.S.-brokered truce. Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and failing to go through with other parts of the plan, which calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza.
Trump Board of Peace and Israeli Officials Respond
The Trump-appointed Board of Peace, set up to monitor the plan, said it noted Hamas’ move, but added that ultimately, their assessment would be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed Hamas’ announcement. The group’s apparent willingness to make room for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament, Saar said on X, adding that as long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates.
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza Preparedness
Under the Trump-backed plan, Hamas is supposed to hand over government oversight to a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a U.S.-backed group of Palestinian technocrats. Ali Shaath, the head of that 15-member National Committee, said his committee was ready to assume its responsibility in Gaza as soon as the necessary resources and enabling conditions for its work were in place.
Shaath wrote in a post on his Facebook page that the fundamental requirements for the commission’s success were the existence of one authority and one law under a clear reference framework, and one weapon subject to that authority.
Continuing Military Operations and Humanitarian Realities
While political maneuvers unfold in administrative offices, violence continues to affect the enclave, which remains in ruins more than 2-1/2 years after the latest Gaza conflict began. Israeli troops control more than 60% of Gaza, patrolling what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as a buffer zone to deter Hamas attacks, and Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw from the territory. Israel’s devastating aerial and ground bombardment of Gaza displaced nearly the entire population of 2 million people, most of whom now live in tents or damaged buildings in a narrow coastal strip of territory governed by Hamas.
Hamas has refused to disarm until Israel halts attacks in Gaza, the latest of which killed five people on Monday, medics in the enclave said. Israel says its attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire have been aimed at thwarting militant threats. Gaza health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed a couple in an apartment in Gaza City’s Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood on Monday. Two other strikes — one on a tent housing displaced people and another on a vehicle in Khan Younis in the south — killed three people and wounded at least 20 others, medics said, while the Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents.