Bangladesh seeks to join international force in Gaza

By Kanishka Singh

Bangladesh said on Saturday it has told the United States that it wants to join the international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza.

Bangladesh said its national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, met U.S. diplomats Allison Hooker and Paul Kapur in Washington.

Rahman "expressed Bangladesh's interest in principle to be part of the international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza," a Bangladeshi government statement added. It did not mention the extent or nature of its proposed involvement. The State Department had no immediate comment.

A U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized a so-called Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza where a ceasefire began in October.

The truce has not progressed beyond its first phase, and little progress has been made on the next steps. More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect, and nearly all of Gaza's more than 2 million people live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.

Both Israel and Hamas remain far apart on the more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase of the ceasefire and have accused each other of violations.

Israel's military assault on Gaza since late 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza's entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a U.N. inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel called its actions self-defense after a 2023 Hamas attack in which 1,200 were killed and over 250 taken hostage.