Kosovo Approves Deploying Troop to Gaza
Speaking during a televised cabinet session, Kurti framed the decision in terms of historical solidarity.
"Ready to participate and help the people of Gaza, because we ourselves have been and are beneficiaries of international forces since 1999," Kurti said.
The force Kosovo has signed onto — the International Stabilization Force (ISF) — was conceived through a UN Security Council resolution passed last November, anchored in President Donald Trump's 20-point postwar Gaza blueprint. It has since been folded into Trump's broader Board of Peace, established in January to oversee reconstruction efforts and ceasefire implementation in the enclave. The ISF's mandate encompasses training a new Palestinian police force, securing borders, maintaining order, protecting humanitarian operations, and overseeing demilitarization.
Kosovo, however, brings limited firepower to the table. The territory fields just 4,000 active military personnel and ranks 139th out of 145 countries in military strength according to Global Firepower — the weakest of all nations that have formally pledged troops. Kurti has not disclosed how many soldiers Pristina intends to deploy. Other confirmed contributors include Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Albania, while Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE remain in ongoing discussions.
Several major Western powers — among them Germany, France, and the UK — have declined to join either the board or the force. Russia has said it is examining an invitation to participate, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested the initiative had lost relevance given what he described as US aggression in the Middle East. China has formally declined, citing its adherence to a UN-centered global order.
Kosovo's commitment carries its own geopolitical complexities. The territory unilaterally declared independence in 2008 following the NATO-backed war on Yugoslavia — a conflict that included the bombing of Belgrade — and remains unrecognized by more than 90 UN member states, including Serbia, Russia, China, India, Spain, and Greece. Former Kosovo president and militia leader Hashim Thaci currently awaits a war crimes verdict from The Hague and faces a separate trial for obstruction of justice.
On the ground in Gaza, conditions remain dire despite a ceasefire reached between Hamas and Israel last October. Israeli forces have killed at least 680 Palestinians since the truce took effect, according to local health officials, pushing the overall death toll since October 2023 to more than 72,000 — the majority of them women and children.
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