Qatar and Egypt urge Israeli withdrawal to secure next step in Gaza peace deal

Mediators of delicate truce say troop removal and deployment of international force crucial to second phase

Qatar and Egypt, the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire, called on Saturday for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilisation force as the necessary next steps in fully implementing the fragile agreement.

The measures were spelt out in the US- and UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted fighting, though the warring parties have yet to agree on how to move forward from the deal's first phase.