Qatar has warned that Gaza risks sliding into a “deadly limbo” where a ceasefire exists in name only but killing continues, urging swift deployment of an international security force and administration to pave the way for a full Israeli withdrawal.

We don’t want to reach a situation of no war, no peace,” said Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry, in an interview with The Guardian.

More than 100 Palestinians, including at least 66 women and children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday — the deadliest day since former US president Donald Trump declared the war over. Israel said the strikes were retaliation for an attack in Rafah that killed one of its soldiers.

The ceasefire deal, which calls for an international force to secure Gaza and oversee reconstruction, aims to reduce immediate violence and pave the way for Hamas’ disarmament and Israel’s full pullout. But progress has stalled amid continuing clashes and diplomatic wrangling.

Ansari stressed that rapid action was critical to prevent the fragile truce from collapsing. “There is a need for the international community to go in, assess the damage, start reconstruction, and formally keep the peace,” he said.

The 20-point plan underpinning the ceasefire leaves key details — including the force’s mandate and composition — unresolved. Qatar and its regional allies want the mission to be backed by the United Nations, an idea the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Washington was considering.

Ansari said securing a UN Security Council mandate was essential for stabilising Gaza, noting that “many countries have agreed in principle” to take part, but concrete terms were still lacking.

He also revealed that Qatar’s mediators came under direct attack in September when Israeli missiles struck a meeting in Doha between Hamas officials discussing a US ceasefire proposal, killing a Qatari citizen and five Hamas members. The strike, he said, was intended to “push Qatar out” as a trusted mediator.

The Trump administration later pressured Israel to apologise, and talks resumed, with Qatar focusing on three goals — ending the war, preventing annexation or occupation, and ensuring no displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Although the ceasefire remains in force, the path to lasting peace and Palestinian self-rule remains fraught, with Israel’s far-right coalition opposing any move toward sovereignty.