A Hamas Police officer directs traffic in Gaza City on Jan. 28, 2026. (Credit: Stringer/Reuters)
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee, while insisting that Israel open the key Rafah border crossing which it has kept mostly shut since May 2024.
"Protocols are prepared, files are complete, and committees are in place to oversee the handover, ensuring a complete transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip across all sectors to the technocratic committee," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.
The 15-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is a team of Palestinian technocrats created as part of the U.S.-sponsored 'cease-fire' agreement which came into effect on Oct. 10, which Israel has nevertheless continued to violate on a daily basis.
It is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza and will work under the supervision of U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace."
The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the territory's Rafah crossing with Egypt reopens.
Hamas spokesman Qassem added that the Rafah crossing "must be opened in both directions, with full freedom of exit and entry to the Gaza Strip, without any Israeli obstacles."
Rafah is Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel and is a key entry point for both people and goods.
It has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it in May 2024, except for a limited reopening in early 2025.
NCAG head Shaath announced last week that Rafah would reopen in both directions the following week.
Qassem told AFP the "independent national committee's announcement of the opening of the Rafah crossing is important".
"What is more important is that we monitor this committee's handling of citizens' departures and entries in full freedom in accordance with the agreement, and not according to Israeli conditions," he added.
Israel has said it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the crossing as part of its "limited reopening" once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili.
Israeli forces brought back Gvili's remains on Monday and his funeral was held in the southern town of Meitar on Wednesday.
Qassem said Wednesday that "it is clear that Hamas is committed to the agreement to stop the war on the Gaza Strip."
"It has carried out everything required of it in the first phase and is ready to enter all tracks of the second phase," he added.
With the technocratic committee's creation and the last hostage held in Gaza returned to Israel, the ceasefire deal's next important milestones will be Hamas's disarmament and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas said the return of Gvili's body showed its commitment to the cease-fire deal but has so far not handed over its weapons, claiming that doing so would be akin to surrender.
The group has repeatedly said disarmament is a red line, but it has also suggested it would be open to handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing authority.
Neither Israel nor Hamas have committed to a clear date or strategy for withdrawal or disarmament.
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