Bangladesh has told the United States it wants to join an international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza, according to a statement from the Bangladeshi government. The message was delivered in Washington during a meeting between Bangladesh’s national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, and U.S. diplomats Allison Hooker and Paul Kapur.
In the statement, Rahman said he “expressed Bangladesh’s interest in principle to be part of the international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza,” while giving no details about how Bangladesh might take part. The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment, the reports said.
What Bangladesh communicated
Bangladesh’s government said Rahman met Hooker and Kapur in Washington and shared Bangladesh’s interest in joining the planned force for Gaza. The statement did not describe the “extent or nature” of any proposed role.
The reports did not say whether Bangladesh offered troops, funding, or other support, only that it expressed interest “in principle.” The U.S. side did not immediately respond publicly through the State Department, according to the coverage.
UN-backed force plan
The planned deployment is tied to a United Nations Security Council resolution adopted in mid-November, which authorized a “Board of Peace” and countries working with it to create a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. The same reports said a ceasefire in Gaza began in October.
Beyond that outline, the sources did not spell out the force’s structure, timeline, or which countries might contribute. They also did not provide further details about the “Board of Peace” beyond naming it as part of the UN-backed authorization.
Ceasefire still stalled
The reports said the ceasefire has not moved beyond its first phase, and that there has been little progress on what comes next. They also said both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire took effect, more than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed, according to the same accounts. The sources did not provide a breakdown of how those deaths occurred or who reported each figure, only that the deaths were “reported” after the ceasefire began.
Conditions in Gaza
Nearly all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people are living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings, the reports said. They described the population as being concentrated in a “sliver of territory” where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has “reasserted control.”
The coverage also said Israel’s military assault on Gaza since late 2023 has killed tens of thousands, contributed to a hunger crisis, and displaced Gaza’s entire population inside the territory. It added that multiple rights experts, scholars, and a UN inquiry say the assault amounts to genocide, while Israel has called its actions self-defense.
Israel’s position was described as rooted in the aftermath of a 2023 Hamas attack in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage, according to the reports. The sources did not add further detail in these articles about the status of those hostages or additional steps tied to the next phase of the ceasefire.
