US special envoy, CENTCOM Chief visit Gaza as displaced Palestinians begin return to ravaged north
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Adm. Brad Cooper visited Gaza on Saturday, according to reports.
In a statement, the US commander said that he paid a visit to Gaza “to inform how we are moving forward to establish a CENTCOM-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) that will synchronize activities to support post-conflict stabilization.”
“This great effort will be achieved with no U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” Cooper said.
Separately, tens of thousands of Palestinians set off toward areas vacated by occupation forces after a ceasefire took effect on Friday.
Thousands of displaced civilians departed from southern Gaza to their homes northward, the majority on foot. Some made the hours-long journey using the few vehicles still running amid fuel shortages, along with animal-drawn carts, bicycles, and motorcycles.
Simultaneously, thousands returned to their homes in the central Gaza Strip and some eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south, following the withdrawal of occupation forces.
The transfers from the south to the north were carried out via the coastal Al-Rashid Street in the west and Salah al-Din Road in the east.
Hundreds of displaced civilians had to set up tents on the rubble of their homes upon returning.
A gradual withdrawal of Zionist forces toward the yellow line was completed on Friday in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s plan.
The occupation forces withdrew from Gaza City in the north, excluding the Shejaiya neighborhood and some parts of the Al-Tuffah and Zeitoun neighborhoods; and the central and eastern parts of Khan Younis in the south. Palestinians were prevented from entering Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
The Gaza Government Media Office said on Saturday that more than 5,000 missions, including humanitarian, health, rescue, and relief operations, were carried out in the past 24 hours across Gaza governorates.
This comes as the Zionist occupation’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 67,211 Palestinians and wounded 169,961others since October 2023.
