Hamas says it is dissolving the civilian body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, presenting the move as a major step toward implementing the ceasefire agreement. The announcement, made on July 6, would transfer day to day administrative responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic body established under the internationally backed postwar framework.

Mohammed al Farra, who headed Hamas’s Government Emergency Committee, submitted his resignation, and Hamas announced the committee itself had been dissolved. The group said technical and professional staff would remain temporarily to ensure hospitals, municipalities, and other civilian services continue operating until the NCAG assumes responsibility.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the decision demonstrates the group’s commitment to the ceasefire and means Hamas “will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip.” He argued the move removes what he described as Israeli pretexts for continuing military operations.

The announcement addresses civilian administration only. Hamas made no reference to its military wing, its weapons, tunnel network, rocket arsenal, or command structure. There was no announcement regarding disarmament or the transfer of military authority.

That distinction has dominated ceasefire negotiations for months.

The NCAG was created to oversee reconstruction, public services, humanitarian assistance, and civilian governance after the war. The committee, made up of technocrats, was never intended to function as a parallel authority alongside an independent armed organization. Its deployment into Gaza has been delayed by continuing negotiations over security arrangements, Israeli objections, and the absence of an international stabilization force.

The Board of Peace, which oversees implementation of the broader Gaza transition plan, acknowledged Hamas’s announcement but said progress would be measured by implementation rather than declarations. It repeated its position that Gaza must ultimately operate under “one authority, one law, and one weapon,” language that reflects the international demand that all armed groups eventually come under a single governing authority.

Israeli officials responded with skepticism, describing the announcement as an attempt to preserve Hamas’s influence while shifting responsibility for governing Gaza to another body. Several Israeli officials compared the proposal to the Hezbollah model in Lebanon, where civilian institutions administer the state while Hezbollah retains an independent military structure.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar argued the move would allow Hamas to continue exercising power while avoiding responsibility for Gaza’s civilian administration.

The broader U.S. backed ceasefire framework also leaves the military question unresolved. While the agreement outlines a path toward reconstruction and civilian governance, later phases call for resolving Gaza’s long term security arrangements, including the future of armed groups operating inside the Strip. Hamas’s announcement did not address those provisions.

The timing comes ahead of another round of talks in Cairo, where Palestinian factions and international mediators are expected to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire process. Negotiators continue to work through issues including hostage releases, Israeli withdrawals, reconstruction, humanitarian access, and Gaza’s future security structure.

For now, Hamas has only announced a change in Gaza’s civilian administration. Whether that evolves into a broader transfer of authority and giving up it’s weapons will depend on negotiations that have yet to produce an agreement on the issue that has remained unresolved since the ceasefire process began: the future of Hamas’s military wing and it’s weapons.