After weeks of negotiations, Hamas on Friday released the first batch of captives it had agreed to set free under a truce deal with Israel that came into effect in the morning.
Fighters took 237 people into captivity from Israel after Hamas’s October 7 attack. Under the deal for a four-day truce, Hamas is to release 50 captives in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel and a pause in fighting. However, more than those numbers might be released, officials indicated.
