Hamas says it will dissolve its Gaza government when new Palestinian
body takes over
[January 12, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY and JULIA FRANKEL
CAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Sunday it will dissolve its existing government
in Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over
the territory, as mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. But the
group gave no specifics on when the change will occur.
Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians’
internationally recognized representative, have not announced the names
of the technocrats, who are not supposed to be politically affiliated,
and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the U.S.
The “Board of Peace,” an international body led by Trump, is supposed to
oversee the government and other aspects of the ceasefire that took
effect on Oct. 10, including disarming Hamas and deploying an
international security force. The board's members have not been
announced.
Meanwhile, the post-ceasefire death toll continued to rise in Gaza, with
Israeli gunfire killing three Palestinians, according to Palestinian
hospital officials.
The ceasefire began with a halt in fighting and the release of hostages
held in Gaza in exchange for thousands of Palestinians held by Israel.
The deal is still in its first phase as efforts continue to recover the
remains of the final hostage left in Gaza.
An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
closed-door information, said Hamas was sending a delegation to talks
with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials about moving to the second
phase.
Future Gaza governance in flux
In comments posted on his Telegram channel Sunday, Hazem Kassem, a Hamas
spokesperson, called for speeding up the establishment of the
technocratic committee.
The Egyptian official said Hamas will meet with other Palestinian
factions this week to finalize the committee's formation. The Hamas
delegation will be chaired by top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the
official said.
Trump has said the “Board of Peace " will monitor the committee and
handle the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international
security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and Gaza's
reconstruction. The U.S. has reported little progress on any of these
fronts, though the members of the board are expected to be announced
this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Bulgarian
diplomat Nickolay Mladenov has been selected as the board’s
director-general. Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign
minister who served as U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the
U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015 to 2020. During that time, he had
good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease
Israel-Hamas tensions.
Also Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met in Jerusalem with
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Saar said Israel was
committed to enforcing Trump’s plan, while Motegi expressed Japan’s
willingness to play an active role in the ceasefire.
According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, Motegi visited the Civil-Military
Coordination Center, where the ceasefire is being monitored. He was also
set to meet Netanyahu and Palestinian officials in the Israeli-occupied
West Bank.
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A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in
Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Violence in Gaza continues
In Gaza, two men were shot dead in the southern town of Bani Suhaila,
according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Earlier
Sunday, a man was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Tuffah
neighborhood of Gaza City, according to Al-Ahly hospital, which
received the body.
In response to questions about the Tuffah incident, Israel’s
military said it had fired at and hit a “terrorist” in northern Gaza
who had approached troops. In a later statement, the military said
it had killed a “terrorist” in southern Gaza who approached troops.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 400
Palestinians, according to local health officials.
The Israeli military says any actions since the ceasefire began have
been in response to violations of the agreement.
Israeli police detain top official
Israeli police said Sunday they were questioning a top official from
Netanyahu's office over possible obstruction of an investigation
into last year's leak of classified military information to a German
tabloid.
Israeli media identified the official as Tzachi Braverman,
Netanyahu’s chief of staff, who is expected to start as the next
ambassador to the United Kingdom in the coming months.
He’s the latest official to be caught up in the scandal, in which
Netanyahu’s inner circle is accused of leaking confidential
information to German tabloid Bild to improve public perception of
the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in
2024.
It comes after an explosive interview by Kan News with former
Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who described a clandestine
meeting with Braverman in an underground parking lot in the middle
of the night in connection with the leak. Feldstein, who has been
indicted, said Braverman offered to “shut down” the probe into the
leaked information.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid immediately called for the suspension
of Braverman as ambassador. “It is unacceptable that a person
suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security
investigation should be the face of Israel in one of Europe’s most
important countries,” Lapid wrote on X.
In response, Saar defended Braverman’s appointment and said he would
not be removed from it until formally charged or tried.
___
Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Melanie
Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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