Hamas announced on Monday that the government administering the Gaza Strip on its behalf has resigned and signalled that it is ready to transfer its powers to a Palestinian technocratic committee. The committee was established as part of a US-backed peace plan, which was set out after the implementation of a fragile ceasefire in October. “Hamas has taken a new step in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip, in order to remove any pretexts for the occupation, which continues its aggression and war of extermination,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.Senior Israeli officials said the move was “meaningless spin” and a stalling tactic. “In practice, all the officials remain in their posts and Hamas continues to rule,” said an Israeli official. “The move is meant to allow the technocratic committee to enter under conditions that are convenient for Hamas, which is essentially continuing to manage affairs behind the scenes.”The US-appointed Board of Peace, which was created to advance the ceasefire agreement, said it had “taken note” of Hamas’s announcement, but that it would wait for “actions, not promises”. The board called on Hamas to disarm, saying: “The core principle remains one authority, one law and one weapon.”Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and failing to go through with other parts of the plan, which calls for Israeli forces ​to withdraw from Gaza as Hamas lays down its weaponsThe technocratic committee was established six months ago as part of US president Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, but has not yet begun to operate. Israel is not allowing members of the technical committee, who are in Cairo, to enter the Strip. Israel claims that the technical committee can only enter Gaza after Hamas disarms.Monday’s announcement by Hamas does not include its military wing. Mediators Qatar, Turkey and Egypt are still negotiating with Hamas over its disarmament. Fresh talks will be held this week with Hamas in Cairo in an effort to “bridge the gaps” regarding the second phase of the ceasefire agreement that was reached in October.Hamas is opposed to surrendering its arms directly to Israel, but is willing to discuss transferring some weapons to an agreed Palestinian body. Israeli forces control almost 70 per cent of the coastal enclave, but under the second phase of the ceasefire plan, Israeli troops will withdraw and be replaced by an international force. According to the plan, displaced Palestinians will relocate in stages to new residential neighbourhoods under a significant reconstruction expected to take a decade to complete.The technocratic committee was formed to oversee infrastructure, sanitation, education and public services, without clear political affiliation.Some 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed when militants stormed into Israel across the Gaza border on October 7th, 2023, according to Israel. And Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.Israel’s aerial and ground bombardment displaced nearly the entire population of two million people, most of whom now live in tents or damaged buildings in a narrow coastal strip of territory governed by Hamas.Gaza health officials said an Israeli air strike killed ⁠a couple ​in an apartment in Gaza City’s Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood on Monday.Two other strikes – one on ​a tent housing displaced people and another on a vehicle in Khan Younis in the south – killed three people and wounded at least 20 others, medics said.The Israeli military did not immediately ​comment on the incidents. – Additional reporting: Reuters.