These verses give background information about the miracle that Jesus is about to perform by feeding five thousand people. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-background]])
This word is used here to mark a break in the main storyline. Here Matthew starts to tell a new part of the story.
# heard this
"heard what happened to John" or "heard the news about John"
# he withdrew
"he left" or "he went away from the crowd." It is implied that Jesus' disciples went with him. AT: "Jesus and his disciples left" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])