After almost 20 years in power, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has announced that it had dissolved its governing bodies in the Gaza Strip, paving the way for a technocratic committee to administer the territory.

"The chairman of the government's emergency committee, Mohammed al-Farra, has officially submitted his resignation," Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government's media office, said, adding that he had "decided to dissolve the committee in order to facilitate the administrative and governmental transition to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG)."

The NCAG was created by the "Peace Council", established by US President Donald Trump, during the negotiations that led to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October 2025.

Hamas's initiative marks a political turning point for the Islamist movement, which took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 following clashes with Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, based in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

A few months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, the movement said it was ready to withdraw from power in Gaza in favor of another Palestinian leadership.

Since then, numerous scenarios have been discussed, but on the ground, the situation remains stalled. One of the main sticking points remains the disarmament of Hamas, which maintains that it will only concede within the framework of a Palestinian political initiative, something Israel rejects.

"Hamas has taken another step by renouncing the administration of the Gaza Strip in order to deprive the occupation of any pretext to continue its aggression and war of extermination," its spokesman, Hazem Qassem, said.

A Hamas official said earlier that the movement had already informed other Palestinian factions of its decision at a recent meeting in Cairo.

The NCAG, headed by Palestinian Ali Shaath, has been based in Cairo for several months, with Israel reportedly opposing its deployment in the war-torn territory.

A move in the right direction?

"From Hamas's point of view, this announcement ticks several boxes," a diplomatic source who participated in some of the discussions in Cairo explained.

"It shows that the movement is advancing the process while emphasizing what it presents as Israel's failure to respect its commitments," she added.

The first phase of the ceasefire allowed for the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The transition to the second phase, which was supposed to include the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has, however, been at a standstill for several months.

On the contrary, Israeli forces have strengthened their presence in the enclave, while the governance of Gaza after the war remains a sticking point.

Israel rules out any return of Hamas to power, but also rejects, at this stage, a direct takeover of the administration of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

At least 1,072 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the truce came into effect, according to the territory's health ministry, which is under the authority of Hamas, and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

The Israeli army claims to have lost five soldiers and one contractor in Gaza over the same period.