Hamas relinquishes control of Gaza, civilian committee to take over administration

In a historic political move aimed at helping end Israel's devastating military campaign and offensive in Gaza, the Palestinian movement Hamas has announced the dissolution of its governing administration after nearly two decades of rule in the Gaza Strip. The decision paves the way for the transfer of administrative authority to a newly established civilian committee.

The move is being viewed as a major political shift for Hamas, which has governed Gaza continuously since 2007 after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.

Speaking to AFP, Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of Hamas' Government Media Office, said that Mohammed Al-Farra, head of Gaza's Emergency Committee, has formally submitted his resignation.

Al-Thawabta added that a final decision has been made to dissolve the Emergency Committee in order to facilitate the transfer of governmental and administrative responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).

According to the report, a historic ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was signed in October 2025 through mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump. As part of that initiative, the Board of Peace established the NCAG to oversee civilian governance in Gaza. Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has repeatedly stated that it was fully prepared to step aside from Gaza's day-to-day administration.

Commenting on the decision, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the movement had taken this "new and far-sighted step" to ensure that Israel would have no further pretext to continue what Hamas describes as its aggression and war of annihilation in Gaza.

He added, "We hope that the national civilian committee formed to administer Gaza will begin its work very soon. Hamas is fully prepared to hand over all governmental responsibilities and authority to the committee to ensure its complete success."

Source: Al Jazeera