Hamas Seeks to Embed Police Force in U.S.-Backed Gaza Administration

Hamas is seeking to incorporate its roughly 10,000 police officers into the new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration planned for Gaza, according to sources cited by Reuters, a move expected to face firm opposition from Israel as the ceasefire process enters its second phase.

The demand has emerged as part of Phase Two of the 20-point plan brokered in October by U.S. President Donald Trump, which conditions further Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza on Hamas relinquishing its weapons and surrendering control of Gaza’s governance.

Under the framework, responsibility for administering Gaza is intended to be transferred to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian technocratic body operating under U.S. oversight and supposed to exclude Hamas from formal authority. The plan is supported by Trump’s newly launched “Board of Peace,” a transitional body designed to coordinate funding and oversee reconstruction, and includes a provision barring “foreign terrorist organizations” from participating in governance.

Despite those conditions, Hamas has taken steps to preserve its influence on the ground as the governance transition moves forward. In an internal letter to staff seen by Reuters, Gaza’s Hamas-run government urged more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG, while assuring them that the movement was working to secure their inclusion in the new governing structure.

That internal messaging is now being translated into a concrete demand. Sources familiar with the matter said Hamas is insisting that its approximately 10,000-member police force be incorporated into the new administration, a demand not previously reported. The officers remain active on the ground in areas still under Hamas control.

Publicly, Hamas has framed the demand as a matter of continuity and workers’ rights. Spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect, while insisting that existing personnel not be sidelined. “We (have) full confidence that it will operate on the basis of benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said.

Israeli officials have repeatedly made clear that Hamas terrorists will not be permitted to play any role in Gaza’s future governance or security arrangements. It remains unclear whether Israel would accept the inclusion of Hamas-linked civil servants or police in any form. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The U.S.-backed framework envisions the immediate decommissioning of heavy weapons and a sector-by-sector disarmament process, with areas secured by police forces operating under NCAG authority. Hamas’s insistence on embedding its own police within the new system runs directly counter to that model.

Significant operational hurdles also remain. Hamas and NCAG chair Ali Shaath have not yet met in person to discuss the transfer of authority. Questions have also been raised over whether Sami Nasman, a former Palestinian Authority general appointed to oversee security under the NCAG, would be able to operate effectively in Gaza.