Timeline: 20 years of Hamas rule in Gaza, from elections to politics | Israel-Palestine War News

Following 20 years of rule besieged by brutal sieges, entrenched political divisions, and constant military conflict, Hamas has formally dissolved its emergency government committee in the Gaza Strip, the body that once governed the Palestinian territory.

The move transfers control to a newly created technical agency, reflecting the long history of the besieged area.

Offering of “International Committee to Monitor Gaza“, which is working under the “Gaza Peace Council” supported by international countries, is ending the period of chaos.

2006: Democratic victory and immediate siege

Hamas’s rise to power began on January 26, 2006, when the group won a landslide and unexpected victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. Hamas won 76 of the 132 seats, beating the long-ruling Fatah party, which won just 43 seats. The election showed a large turnout, with nearly 78 percent of Gaza’s 1.3 million eligible voters casting their ballots.

At the time, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh tried to convince the international community that the group was a “sophisticated group” that was politically open. However, Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi warned at the time that a victory would lead to international isolation for the Palestinians.

His fear was immediately apparent. Instead of leading to a political settlement, the victory led to a major economic and security shutdown of Israel in the first half of 2006.

The Palestinian political researcher, Mohammad Al-Aila, recalled that no international or local party questioned the integrity of the elections, yet the Western authorities who claim to celebrate democracy rejected the results when they showed the political winner wrongly with their interests. When the first attempts to adopt and control the group failed, the international organization implemented a strict ban on the group.

2006 – 2010: Class wars and disruptive blockades

The situation escalated on June 25, 2006, when Palestinian soldiers arrested Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a difficult cross-border operation. Israel has cited this war, along with the election results, as a reason to strengthen its power in society.

By June 14, 2007, after a period of bloody fighting between Palestinian factions, Hamas took over all military and political power in the Gaza Strip. In response, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the coalition government that had existed until then, and Israel imposed a land, sea, and air blockade on Gaza.

This caused an economic crisis: In the years that followed, 80 percent of the population became dependent on aid, 80 percent of factories closed, and thousands of people lost their jobs. Despite attempts to liberate the city – most notably the 2010 Freedom Flotilla, which ended in Israel’s deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara ship – the blockade has remained a sign of daily life.

2014 – 2023: Changes in the management system

In order to manage the region amid the constant siege and repeated torture by the Israeli army in 2008, 2012, and 2014, Hamas created an oversight committee in 2014 after the collapse of the reconciliation agreement. In an effort to end international isolation, Hamas released a new political document in 2017, and later that year, dissolved its supervisory committee under pressure from Egypt to hand over power to a coalition government.

When reconciliation efforts failed again and again, the “Committee to Follow the Civil Service” emerged in 2018 as a permanent body to oversee civil service and employment.

Al-Aila also said that Hamas’ willingness to leave the government was not the only reason for the current war. The group has already expressed its desire to share power, in particular to push for the Palestinian elections canceled by President Abbas in 2021, and to accept the reconciliation agreement signed in Algiers in 2022.

But everything changed in October 2023, when Hamas fighters took control of southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed, and the Palestinian army took more than 200 prisoners to Gaza. Israel responded by launching a genocidal war in Gaza, in which more than 70,000 people were killed.

2023 – 2025: War, emergency rule, and targeted killings

After the war ended in October 2023, the governing body of Hamas launched a central working room, creating the “Emergency State Committee”. The agency oversees the management of hospitals, refugee camps, water, and waste disposal.

Throughout the war, Israel has closely monitored the security of the people in Gaza and the administration, as well as senior Hamas leaders. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh – who was involved in the peace talks – was assassinated while in Tehran.

In a major threat to the Gaza regime, Israeli forces killed Issam al-Da’alis, head of the Follow-up Committee, in March 2025.

According to Al-Aila, this was a deliberate move. He explained that the Israeli army tried to eliminate their ability to attack the headquarters of the police and the police to make them “inoperative”.

The ensuing chaos made Gaza vulnerable to adopting other strategies, established by other countries, and framing them as a legitimate response to the crisis created by the Israeli army.

2026: The Peace Council, the final surrender, is the future

After the armistice, the White House approved a management plan. the management of the management of the management of the management of the management

On July 6, 2026, the Gaza Media Office held a press conference outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to announce the dissolution of the Terror Committee.

Israeli officials have expressed deep skepticism about the change. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced this as a “hypocrisy,” saying Hamas was trying to follow the “Hezbollah model” in Lebanon — allowing a technocratic government to handle urban projects while the group still carries out military operations.

Under the changes, approximately 45,000 government employees in all sectors of health, education, and internal security will remain in their positions to ensure the uninterrupted flow of essential services.

Al-Aila warned against any international attempt to crack down on civil servants, saying that replacing civil servants with years of experience could lead to organizational paralysis and unrest.

He emphasized that although the New National Committee is considered a non-political organization, it is not independent from politics, as it was created with the support of the US for political purposes. His success, he concluded, was largely dependent on avoiding isolationist policies and establishing good, cooperative relations with Gaza’s political parties, families, and existing institutions.