Hamas calls for pressure on Israel to facilitate entry of Gaza interim committee

Hamas on Saturday called on the international community to exert serious pressure on Israel to facilitate the entry of technocratic committee into Gaza that will oversee the territory’s governance, saying Israel’s ongoing attacks undermine the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement: "We call on all parties to exert serious pressure on the [Israeli] occupation to facilitate the entry of the Gaza administration committee and enable it to begin its work in providing relief to our people in the Strip."

Under the US-led "Board of Peace" in charge of overseeing Gaza’s post-war affairs, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is made up of 12 Palestinian technocrats who will act as interim government in the enclave.

It is supposed to remain in place until the Palestinian Authority – which has limited control over the occupied West Bank – completes a reform programme which has not been discussed or negotiated yet.

Despite being formed last month, the technocratic committee is still based in Egypt – a key broker in the Gaza ceasefire – and has not yet entered Gaza to begin its work.

On Monday, Hamas announced that arrangements had been completed to transfer authority in Gaza to the NCAG, which does not include members of Hamas nor of the rival Fatah movement, which heads the Palestinian Authority.

The entry of the committee’s 12 members, including its head Ali Shaath, requires field and security coordination through crossings into Gaza controlled by Israel.

The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only border post with Egypt, was recently opened for a limited number of Palestinians wishing to enter or leave the Gaza Strip.

No official statement has been issued by the NCAG explaining the reasons for the delay in its entry into Gaza, and Israel hasn’t commented on the matter.

The recent escalation in Israeli strikes on Gaza which have killed scores of Palestinians in recent days may have contributed to delaying the NCAG’s ability to begin its work on the ground, reports say.

Since the October 2025 ceasefire deal, more than 570 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli fire, according to Gaza’s health ministry. This brings the total number of Gazans killed since the start of the war on 7 October 2023 to above 72,000, mostly civilians.

Israeli forces still occupy more than half the territory but are supposed to withdraw as the ceasefire agreement advances onto the second stage.

The first phase saw Hamas release all dead and alive captives it held in Gaza in return for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Separately, Qassem said that "continued talk of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip means nothing as long as the criminal Zionist occupation continues its increased killing and destruction across various areas of the Strip."

He stressed that "the extremist occupation government, through its escalatory conduct, is disregarding the efforts of mediators and the US administration, and showing contempt for all calls aimed at implementing what has been agreed upon."