When three Israeli hostages were released from Gaza on Sunday, Meytal Ofer, an Israeli kindergarten teacher, felt two conflicting emotions.

First of all, Mrs. Ofer felt joy – three of her compatriots, all women, were released after more than 470 days of captivity.

Still, somewhere in the back of her mind was a feeling of hurt. In order to free the women, as well as thirty other hostages expected to be released in the next six weeks, Israel promised to release approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom are serving long prison terms for killing Israelis.

One of these prisoners killed Ms. Ofer’s father in an ax attack 11 years ago.

“I’m overjoyed that they’re back,” Ms. Ofer, 48, said of the hostages. But, she added, “It’s a painful feeling to know that the person who killed my father will be free.”

For both Israelis and Palestinians, the conclusion of the ceasefire prompted joy and celebration, but it also came at a cost to both nations.

The deal leaves Israel in control of strategic parts of Gaza, preventing many Palestinians from returning to their often-destroyed homes, at least for now. It has also forced painful concessions from Israel — including the release of convicted terrorists and the possibility that Hamas, the instigator of the attacks that started the war, will now remain in power.

Despite a 15-month counteroffensive that decimated Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, many Israelis now fear the country has failed to meet its war aims.

After using Gaza as a springboard to launch the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, Hamas still controls most of the territory, allowing its surviving members to parade gleefully through several Gaza cities after the truce began. For Israelis who still want the group’s total defeat, these scenes were a gut punch.

Others could survive Hamas’s survival if it led to the release of all the hostages still held by the group in Gaza. But the compromise reached by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, guarantees the release of only a third of them. Even they will be released at a high price — in exchange for prisoners convicted of some of the most notorious terrorist attacks in Israeli history, along with scores of women and minors held without charge.

“There is an extreme version of ambivalence – we feel two opposite emotions, strongly and simultaneously, a combination of extreme joy and extreme fear,” said Micah Goodman, an Israeli philosopher.

That fear comes in two forms, depending on one’s political stance, Mr. Goodman added. Many on the Israeli left fear that the truce will collapse before all the hostages are freed. And many right-wing Israelis worry that the truce will become permanent, preventing the total defeat of Hamas.

“There isn’t an Israeli I know who wasn’t very moved by the pictures of our sisters coming home,” said Mr. Goodman, the author of several books on Israeli identity. “But the Israelis left fear that we might lose the opportunity to bring the rest of the hostages home,” he added. “And the Israeli right fears that we may have lost the war, if the war ends while Hamas still exists.”

Yitzhak Horn’s plight epitomized the conflict felt by many on the Israeli left. Mr Horn’s sons, Eitan and Yair, were both kidnapped during a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 — but only Yair was listed for release during the first six weeks of the ceasefire. Eitan may never be freed if the Israeli government, under pressure from its right-wing base, renews its efforts to defeat Hamas after those six weeks have passed. For now, Mr. Horn is not sure whether to celebrate or mourn.

“They put me in front of a modern-day Solomonic dilemma,” Yitzhak Horn said in a radio interview Monday, referring to the biblical story of a mother forced to choose between killing her child and giving it away.

“We are all happy with what happened yesterday and we hope it continues,” he said. “On the other hand, I’m angry, disappointed and also scared because I don’t know what’s going to happen – when Eitan is going to come back.”

This frustration within the hostage movement is compounded by the feeling that the government could have done more to undermine Hamas while the war was still raging. Claiming that Hamas can only be replaced after the war ends, the government has repeatedly refused to seek a transition of power in Gaza that would allow more moderate Palestinian actors to govern the territory in place of Hamas.

Over the past 15 months, Israeli troops have at one time or another controlled most of the cities in Gaza, forcing Hamas to flee to other areas. But in any case, the army left without attempting the difficult task of handing over power to Hamas’ rivals.

“Hamas has not only survived militarily — its regime has also remained intact,” Avi Issacharoff, an Israeli commentator, wrote in a column Monday for the centrist newspaper Yediot Ahronoth.

“For the most part, this is entirely due to the Israeli government,” Mr. Issacharoff continued. “For months, Netanyahu and his ministers have steadfastly refused to hold any in-depth discussion about creating a government alternative to Hamas.”

Despite differences in war strategy, Israelis of all backgrounds shared ambivalence about the decision to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees.

Yair Cherki, an Israeli journalist, described the complexities of cheering for the release of the hostages – one of whom, Romi Gonen, is a family friend – while revealing that his brother’s killer would be freed as part of the same deal.

“It’s been less than 10 years since the murder, less than a decade and he’s going to get out? This is intolerable,” Mr. Cherki said at a televised round table.

But, he concluded, “Romi is alive and that’s the basic and simple thing.” My point of view has not changed: Romi must be here.”

Myra Noveck and Gabby Sobelman contributed reporting.