Bangladesh has informed the United States that it is prepared in principle to join an international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza, according to a statement from the Bangladeshi government.
The announcement followed a meeting in Washington between Bangladesh’s national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, and U.S. diplomats Allison Hooker and Paul Kapur, officials in Dhaka said.
Rahman “expressed Bangladesh’s principled interest in taking part in the international stabilization force to be deployed in Gaza,” the government statement said. It did not specify the scope or nature of Bangladesh’s proposed involvement. The U.S. State Department declined to comment.
The potential force was the focus of a closed-door meeting convened on December 17, 2025, in Doha by U.S. Central Command. Representatives from about 45 countries attended the summit, which addressed plans for a stabilization force intended to oversee a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel was not represented at the initial meeting, where participants were briefed on the current stage of planning.
U.S. officials asked participating countries to outline possible contributions, including troops, funding or training and logistical support. Another meeting is expected to take place later this month.
Western diplomats said that even after the Doha meeting, the structure and mandate of the stabilization force remain unclear, and U.S. officials are still assessing how committed different countries would be to participating. No decisions have been made regarding the specific roles of individual states.
During the meeting, European Union representatives proposed expanding existing training programs for Palestinian police in the West Bank and extending them to officers who would be deployed in Gaza as part of the stabilization force.
Officials previously said that countries potentially willing to send troops to Gaza include Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Italy has also expressed readiness to contribute forces, though Italian involvement may ultimately be limited to training rather than boots on the ground. Italian officials are already playing a leading role in training efforts and in the international policing force slated for deployment at the Rafah crossing. In parallel, U.S. officials are holding talks with 15 to 20 countries considered relevant to supporting the stabilization force, diplomats said.
The issue was also discussed during a security meeting on Gaza held in Israel in late 2025, attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior defense officials, including Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. According to several sources familiar with the discussion, the meeting again raised the unresolved question of who would govern Gaza in the “day after” the war, a topic that has been a source of friction between Netanyahu and the military leadership.
Zamir expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the international stabilization force envisioned by the United States as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, the sources said. Under the plan, the force would enter the territory and disarm Hamas. Zamir instead addressed the IDF’s operational preparations and scenarios in which Israeli forces would carry out the disarmament themselves through another military operation.
Zamir asked Netanyahu to provide guidance on what the military should prepare for if Israel is required to disarm Hamas, including who would then control the territory, the sources said. Zamir, who opposes a long-term Israeli military administration in Gaza, nonetheless presented it as a possible “day after” scenario if no alternative emerges. He warned that without a viable governing authority, Israel could end up in a situation in which Hamas eventually regains strength, as it has in the past.
Netanyahu did not provide an answer during the meeting on who would govern Gaza if the international stabilization force fails and Israel is required to carry out the disarmament itself, the sources said.