What is the new Gaza administration as Hamas dissolves government?

Published 7 July 2026 · politics

After nearly two decades of governing the Gaza Strip, Hamas has announced it will dissolve its government and hand over power to a new, Palestinian

After nearly two decades of governing the Gaza Strip, Hamas has announced it will dissolve its government and hand over power to a new, Palestinian technocratic governing authority. The move comes as a United States-backed peace process, which resulted in a ceasefire last year, has largely stalled and as Israel’s bombardment of the Strip continues regardless. Analysts say Hamas is likely looking to put pressure on Israel by using this action to appeal to US President Donald Trump, and show that the group is committed to handing over governance and allowing the peaceful rebuilding of a devastated Gaza. “We hope that this important step on the ground will help bring an end to the aggression, stop the genocide, secure the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, reopen the crossings to allow the entry of aid trucks and end the policy of starvation,” Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera on Monday, following a major press briefing. At least 1,005 people have been killed in Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire was agreed in October 2025, and at least 73,098 people have been killed in total since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023. Furthermore, Israel continues to control about 70 percent of the besieged Strip, crowding Palestinians into the tiny, congested areas that remain. Here’s what we know about Hamas’s latest move and what the new Palestinian-run Gaza authority will look like. What has Hamas announced? Speaking to journalists in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, al-Thawabta said Hamas’s head of administration, Mohammed al-Farra, had resigned from his position on Monday and that Hamas would be transferring power to the Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) – a Palestinian-run technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of the US-mediated ceasefire. Al-Thawabta said only “technical and professional staff” would remain in their posts to keep day-to-day affairs in the Strip running. “All employees working in service provision are ‘state employees’ and are fully prepared to work under the Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” he said.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem, meanwhile, called the move “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal”. What is the new Gaza administration? The Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) was formed in January 2026 under the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2803 as part of the US-backed 20-point peace plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza. It is a transitional body led by Palestinian technocrats, including Acting Commissioner Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, who are seen as neutral and non-partisan. However, Israel has not yet allowed the committee members to enter the Gaza Strip. The committee is temporarily headquartered in Cairo. “We call on all concerned and relevant parties to immediately accelerate the steps for the Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) to enter quickly and assume its national and administrative duties and responsibilities, in order to strengthen the steadfastness of our noble Palestinian people and heal their wounds,” al-Thawabta told the media on Monday. The NCAG reports to a High Commissioner on President Trump’s Board of Peace and to the UN Security Council. The Palestinian Authority, which currently controls the West Bank, is expected to eventually take over, tentatively in 2027. The NCAG’s mandate is largely civilian affairs – restoring health, education and water services. However, it is also mandated to maintain law and order under a unified police force. In a statement posted on X on Monday, NCAG head Shaath said the body had noted Hamas’ announcement and was ready to take over governance of the Strip but only if certain “fundamental” conditions were in place. “We affirm that NCAG stands fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary conditions and enabling measures for its work are in place,” Shaath said in the statement. “The essential requirements for the Committee’s effective functioning include the existence of a single governing authority operating under one legal framework with a clear mandate, and a unified security apparatus accountable to that authority.” Does this mean Hamas is disarming? Israel and the US have repeatedly called for Hamas to disarm before the second phase of the Gaza peace process can begin.