Hamas Dissolves Gaza Governing Body, Paves Way for Technocratic Committee

Hamas announced the dissolution of its Government Emergency Committee — the body that has run Gaza's civilian affairs for nearly two decades — as it prepares to hand day-to-day governance to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Cairo-based technocratic body chaired by Ali Shaath and backed by the UN and the Board of Peace. Hamas's head of administration, Mohammed al-Farra, resigned. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said "Hamas has taken a new step in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip," but the move was widely described as largely symbolic: Hamas retains its military wing and security control of Gaza, made no commitment to disarm, and the NCAG remains outside Gaza due to reported Israeli objections to its entry.