World
Report: Hamas plans to dissolve its Gaza government to allow in technocratic panel
Hamas is reportedly moving toward dissolving its Gaza governing body to make way for a committee of Palestinian technocrats meant to govern the Strip in the postwar transition from its rule, the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Sunday.
Two sources in the group told the paper that Hamas’s move would be meant to usher in the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which has not yet entered the Strip amid Hamas’s refusal to disarm.
One of the sources claimed the dissolution will be announced on Monday.
Last week, NCAG said its members held a series of “highly productive” meetings in Cyprus to prepare for the next phase of its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
On Saturday, Kan news reported that Hamas decided to stall for time in negotiations for its disarmament and for the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for postwar Gaza, assessing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing the same due to the upcoming Knesset election.
The outlet cited an internal document discussed in the past few days by the group. It said Hamas believes Netanyahu views any concession on Gaza as political suicide, and that he is intentionally stalling in the indirect negotiations, which haven’t made meaningful progress in months. The terror group has therefore decided to do the same, it said, and see what the next government brings.
Israel must hold elections by the end of Ocotber.
Last month, diplomats from each of the Middle Eastern mediating countries — Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — told The Times of Israel that Hamas has sought to drag out negotiations on the issue of disarmament. They also argued that Israel’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the first phase of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire has posed a major obstacle as well.
Alongside the strikes across Gaza targeting terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces has slowly been pushing out the boundaries of the area inside the enclave still under its control, saying it now controls at least 60 percent of the Strip, rather than the roughly 53% it held following its pullback on the first day of the truce. Netanyahu said last month he had ordered the military to retake additional territory, amounting to 70% of the enclave.
In the areas not controlled by Israel, Hamas remains in place as the enclave’s de facto government.
Under Trump’s plan, Israel will only fully withdraw upon final verification that the terror groups in the Strip have disarmed.
Although battered by war, Hamas is reported to be maintaining its control over the Strip by executing its opponents and those it views as posing a threat to its rule.
Israel launched the war in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages.
