Cairo, Jan 18 (EFE).- The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said it is ready to hand over the administration of Gaza to a technocratic committee headed by Gazan engineer Ali Shaaz, which was formed in Cairo and began its work last week, a Hamas source told EFE.
The source, familiar with the Cairo talks and speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamas “reaffirmed” during the meetings its “full commitment” to transferring administrative control of the Gaza Strip to the newly established committee.
He said Hamas has agreed with Egyptian mediators on all the details of the handover process, noting that the movement’s leadership outside Gaza has instructed its affiliated bodies and factions to prepare to step down from their positions and hand over all relevant files.
According to the source, Hamas “disclaims before the world and before its people any responsibility for obstructing or hindering the process to end the war.”
“It can be said that Gaza is now under the administration of the committee, and it is expected that all relevant parties will fulfill their commitments to deliver aid, begin reconstruction and alleviate the suffering of the residents” of the devastated Palestinian enclave, he said.
However, the source said Hamas has sent a letter to mediators demanding that the requirements of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement be implemented before discussions begin on the handover of weapons in the second phase, whose start was announced this week by the US government.
He added that Hamas also requested during the Cairo meetings that Israel fulfill its obligations under the first phase, “which have not yet been implemented.”
These obligations include reopening the Rafah crossing, allowing the entry of prefabricated housing units, delivering the agreed quantities of humanitarian aid and excavators, and “ending ceasefire violations” by the Israeli army, the source said.
The technocratic committee, made up of 15 Palestinians and led by Ali Shaaz, was formed last Wednesday after the United States announced the start of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
The committee is tasked with the provisional administration and reconstruction of the post-war Gaza Strip under the supervision of a Peace Council chaired by Trump.
That council will include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, among others.
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