Transition of power in Gaza begins but may be delayed - report

Israel believes that Hamas will soon relinquish authority over the Gaza Strip to a newly formed committee of Palestinian technocrats, The Times of Israel reported.

However, at least in the short term, the Hamas group would remain de facto in control of the territory, an Israeli security official said.

Israel believes that even if Hamas officially announces that it has handed over control of Gaza to the technocratic government, it would still have tens of thousands of armed members in its military wing and internal security forces across the Strip, as well as civil servants in key roles.

“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 earlier this week.