Witkoff and Kushner visit Gaza as Hamas moves to reassert control

President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Gaza on Saturday as postwar planning stepped up, Hamas police reemerged on the streets, and Palestinians began returning to their homes en masse following the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

- Sudarsan Raghavan, Suha Ma'ayeh & Michael R. Gordon

Witkoff, Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, addressed Israelis on Saturday evening in speeches at the Tel Aviv square.

(REUTERS)

As part of a ceasefire deal that is bringing an end to two years of war, Palestinians are awaiting a surge of humanitarian aid and Israel is preparing for a handover of around 20 living hostages held by Hamas. Both are expected in the coming days as part of the deal orchestrated by Trump and Arab and Muslim countries.

Witkoff and Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who helped negotiate the agreement, were taken on a tour of Gaza by the Israeli military, along with Adm, Brad Cooper, the top U.S. commander in the region. They later stopped at an Israeli military base where preparations were being made to receive the hostages, and held talks on the military situation in Gaza with commanders, according to a statement by the Israeli military.

“Just returned from a visit inside Gaza to inform how we are moving forward” on a U,S.-led civil-military coordination center, Cooper said on social media. The center is being established in Israel to support postconflict stabilization and will operate without “U.S. boots on the ground in Gaza,” he said.

Witkoff has previously traveled to the enclave in his role as Trump’s envoy, though visits by senior U.S. officials remain rare.

Nearly 200 U.S, troops are due to arrive in Israel by Sunday to staff the center, which will monitor the ceasefire and organize humanitarian aid, logistics and security assistance to Gaza. Those troops include planners, transportation and engineering specialists, and security experts.