WASHINGTON — A Kuwaiti man held by the United States without trial for nearly 13 years in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was released early Wednesday, the military said. His repatriation was the first transfer to result from a new system of parole-board-like hearings to periodically review whether it is still necessary to keep holding prisoners.

The Kuwaiti, Fawzi al Odah, was also only the second low-level prisoner to be released from Guantánamo this year. Last year, President Obama pledged to revive his efforts to close the prison. Administration officials said an end-of-the-year flurry might be coming: The Pentagon has notified Congress that nine other detainees, including six bound for Uruguay, may soon be transferred.

Still, there are signs that disagreements remain within the administration over how much risk to accept as it tries to winnow down the population of low-level inmates and close the prison. The administration had been poised to repatriate four Afghans who have long been approved for transfer, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently pulled back from that plan, according to officials.

The officials, who discussed deliberations on the condition of anonymity, said the administration decided at a “principals’ committee” meeting on Oct. 3 in the White House Situation Room to proceed with notifying Congress that it intended to repatriate the four Afghans. Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, chaired the meeting.