As the US-brokered ceasefire deal has stagnated, experts say that Hamas’ announcement on Monday, July 6, that it will dissolve its government in Gaza puts pressure on Israel.
The head of Hamas’ Government Media Office (GMO), Ismail al-Thwabta, stated that the terrorist organization is prepared to hand up control to the Palestinian technocratic committee that is supposed to run the enclave in accordance with the deal. Disarmament, a crucial component of the second phase of the truce agreement that the party has so far rejected, was not mentioned in Hamas’ statement.
On the ground, where Hamas and its security forces continue to firmly rule the area of Gaza that is not under Israeli military occupation, the announcement has little effect. However, as President Donald Trump has put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to proceed with parts of the plan, the symbolic action shifts the ceasefire agreement’s focus back to Israel. The creation of “pilot areas” in Gaza where Palestinians would reside under the technocratic committee is one example of this.
Hamas urged the international community and mediators to press Israel to grant the committee access to Gaza.
“We call on all concerned and relevant parties to immediately accelerate the steps for the National 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-Thwabta said in a statement at the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital in Gaza City.
Although it had “taken note” of Hamas’ announcement, the Board of Peace, which was established to promote the ceasefire deal, stated that it would wait for “actions, not promises.” “The core principle remains one authority, one law, and one weapon,” the board said in a statement on X, urging Hamas to disarm.
The remark, according to Muhammad Shehada, a Gaza specialist at the European Council on Foreign Relations, is an attempt by Hamas to “talk over Netanyahu’s head” and win over Trump.
