TEL AVIV — An entire nation followed with bated breath Friday as Hamas freed 13 Israelis it had held in captivity in Gaza for 49 days, the first step in a Qatari-mediated deal to release 50 of the estimated 240 hostages abducted from southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The remaining 37 hostages of the first batch are scheduled for release over the coming three days, concurrently with Israel’s release of 150 Palestinian prisoners and a four-day cease-fire in the fighting between Hamas and Israel.
The deal, achieved with the personal intervention of US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Qatar and Egypt, is to include some 30 Israeli children and their mothers, as well as elderly or ailing hostages. The hostages, ranging in age from 10 months to 85, are assumed to have been held underground in the array of tunnels that Hamas had dug under the Gaza Strip. Along with the Israelis, Hamas also released 12 Thai migrant workers who had been working in Israel.
Tensions have been running high in recent days as the final details of the deal were being ironed out in Doha, with anguished family members waiting to hear whether their loved ones were on the list, and officials worried about last-minute glitches.
