Palestinians in Gaza: Stuck between Hamas and Israel
Hamas is planning to transfer control of Gaza's civilian administration to Palestinian technocrats as part of the fragile US ceasefire. How is that affecting the
Hamas is planning to transfer control of Gaza's civilian administration to Palestinian technocrats as part of the fragile US ceasefire. How is that affecting the daily lives of people living in Gaza? Last week, the militant group Hamas said it would dissolve its civilian administration, which was part of the US-brokered peace deal from 2025. But Gazans report that many institutions operate as they always did. Eyad Saleh, for example, said he went to the usual government offices to get a copy of his university diploma that he lost during the war. "There's nowhere else to go in Gaza except the institutions run by Hamas," Saleh told DW on the phone from Gaza City. "The only entity providing services to residents is the same body that was in place before the war, with the same employees." The 19-year-old lost the document when he was displaced. He hopes to apply for a scholarship abroad, as he was among the best in his school. Studying elsewhere, he hopes, will be his ticket out of Gaza. Na'ama Saeed, 39, suffers from chronic disease, and she went to the Health Ministry this week to try to get a medical referral document. "The responsible authority in Gaza is still the Ministry of Health, and it is the only entity authorized to issue the necessary official documents," Saeed told DW. "If there were another official body we could turn to without dealing with the current government, we would not hesitate." Official plans but no change on the ground In October 2025, the US peace plan outlined plans for a new administration consisting of independent technocrats. The Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a transitional body made up of Palestinian experts supervised by the Board of Peace was established by US President Donald Trump.
It began its work in early 2026. However, the 15 committee members remain stuck in Egypt's capital Cairo, awaiting Israel's permission to enter Gaza and take up their work. "There is no change, nobody is stepping in to take over," Ghassan Khatib, a lecturer in international politics at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, told DW. "Neither the Americans nor the Israelis are excited about this move [by Hamas]. And the Palestinian Authority is not able to take advantage of this move because they're not allowed to be there by both Israel and the United States," he added. Moreover, Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by several countries, already said that its ministries will stay in place along with their appointed staff, while it would continue to oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control. About 30% of land under Hamas control After the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel retaliated, displacing nearly the entire population of 2.2 million people and destroying large parts of Gaza. The war has been described as genocide by several experts and a UN commission of inquiry. While Israel has vowed to "eliminate Hamas," the militant group remains in power, albeit only in about 30% of Gaza. Israeli troops now occupy the remaining 70% of the narrow territory on the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes the new partition as a buffer zone to deter further attacks by Palestinian militants. Meanwhile, the ceasefire process has stalled, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for violations. Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire in October 2025, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
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