Egypt's interim prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi has unexpectedly announced the resignation of both himself and his cabinet. Beblawi broke the news in a live TV address after a short cabinet meeting on Monday. The resignation has taken many by surprise, and is being seen as another sign that the nation's military chief and current defense minister could be about to announce his bid to run for president.

"The cabinet has taken a decision to offer its resignation to the President of the Republic. I decided, out of fairness to the Egyptian people and to the cabinet, not only to address this to the president, but also to speak to you. The cabinet has, in the last six or seven months, responsibly and dutifully shouldered a very difficult and delicate burden. I believe that, in most cases, we have achieved good results. Like any endeavour, it cannot all be a success. What we have managed to do remains within the boundaries of what was humanly possible," Beblawi said.

The announcement comes amid a series of strikes, including one by public transport workers and garbage collectors. Beblawi says his government did all it could to bring Egypt out of what he called "a narrow tunnel" in terms of security, economic, and political difficulties. Interim ministers will remain in their posts until the president picks a prime minister to form a new Cabinet.

The military-backed body was sworn in on July 16th last year, less than two weeks after Army Chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Egyptian media has been mostly critical of Beblawi for his perceived inability to prevent surging terror attacks and deal with the country's economic woes.