Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), July 7:
The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal.
Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.
It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.
The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but said it would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.”
The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.
At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal.”
Israel dismissed the announcement as irrelevant. “The alleged resignation of the Hamas government, where all of the Hamas members stay in their positions, is a spin that has no significance,” an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media .