Trump envoy Witkoff on the ground in Israel, shows photo, as Gazans return home
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White House special envoy Steve Witkoff was photographed Saturday visiting an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base in the northern Gaza Strip, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold for a second day.
The image was obtained exclusively by Fox News. The head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, accompanied Witkoff on the tour of the installation.
Thousands of Palestinians were seen returning home to the Gaza Strip on Saturday. One image showed a massive column of people moving north along the territory’s coastline, in vehicles and on foot.
“It’s an indescribable feeling; praise God,” resident Nabila Basal told Reuters. “We are very, very happy that the war has stopped and the suffering has ended.”
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASEFIRE TAKES EFFECT, IDF BEGINS WITHDRAWAL TO GAZA
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff visits an Israel Defense Forces base in the northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, October 11, 2025. (Fox News)
The scenes emerge after the IDF said in an X-post on Friday that its ceasefire agreement was now in effect.
“The ceasefire agreement came into effect at noon,” the message said. “Since midday, IDF troops have begun positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of the hostages. IDF troops from the Southern Command are deployed to the area and will continue to eliminate any immediate threats.”
IDF spokesperson for Arab media Avichay Adraee warned: “In accordance with the agreement, IDF troops will continue to be present in various areas of the Gaza Strip. You must avoid approaching IDF troops. Approaching them puts your life in danger.
Palestinians, who have been displaced to the southern part of Gaza, head north on Saturday, October 11, 2025, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears to hold. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
The 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release its remaining hostages began on Friday, according to Reuters. Twenty of the hostages They are believed to be alive, while twenty-eight others are deceased.
“We are very impatient to wait for our son and the 48 hostages,” Hagai Angrest, whose son, Matan, is believed to be still alive, told Reuters. “We’re waiting for the phone call.”
BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES SHOW DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION IN GAZA
Palestinians return to their neighborhood of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, October 11, 2025. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
Palestinian health authorities said 100 bodies had been found in the Gaza Strip following the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Reuters reported.
Gaza City resident Ismail Zayda, 40, told the news agency that his house was still standing despite the war.
Palestinians walk past rubble as they return to their neighborhood in Khan Younis, Saturday, October 11, 2025. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
“Thank God my house is still standing,” he was quoted as saying. “But the place is destroyed, my neighbors’ houses are destroyed, entire neighborhoods are gone.”
In Khan Younis, resident Ahmed al-Brim told Reuters: “We went to our area. She was exterminated. We don’t know where we will go after this.”
Palestinians amid the rubble in Khan Younis, Saturday October 11, 2025. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
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“We couldn’t get the furniture, or the clothes, or anything, not even the winter clothes. There’s nothing left,” he added.
Alex Nitzberg of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
