This is the moment the Israelis have longed for. Three young hostages held by Hamas during one of the darkest moments in Israel's history trudged back to freedom in their home country on Sunday afternoon, 471 days later, from captivity in Gaza.

The release of the three women - Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher - marks the end of a multi-stage deal Initially, the agreement provided an opportunity to end Gaza's brutal war and also brought hope that dozens of hostages would be freed after more than 15 months in captivity. They, their families and the country suffered.

But Israelis' joy and relief at the release are mixed with anguish over what will be revealed in the coming weeks. Israeli officials believe at least half of the 94 remaining hostages are dead. Many doubt the fragile truce will last long enough for everyone to return.

"There's this tension between the mentality that this could be the last day of their husband's or their child's life and that the same person could be sleeping in the next room next week," said Udi Goren, who The family is waiting for the return of the body of his cousin Talhaimi, who was killed on October 7 and then taken to Gaza.

"I don't think words can describe the vast difference between these two emotions."

Over the past 15 months, the fate of the hostages has been seared into Israel's national consciousness. From Haifa to Eilat, faces from their happier days are plastered on buildings and billboards. Details of their lives filled daily news bulletins. Rallies demanding government action to ensure their release have become a weekly fixture.

But as the truce approaches this weekend, there are hopes that at least some will eventually be released, but there are reminders that the situation remains fluid. Missiles from Yemen have set off chilling air raid sirens across the country. In Tel Aviv, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli before being shot to death by a passerby.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes continued to bombard Gaza on Sunday morning, raising the death toll in the devastated enclave to more than 140 people since the deal was announced last week, according to Palestinian officials.

"We see a glimmer of hope, but it's not the light at the end of the tunnel," Dalia Gilardi said as she and a friend attended a pro-hostage rally in central Jerusalem on Saturday night.

"You're glad people are coming home, you're glad the war is coming to an end, even for a short time. But there's still a long way to go. Only a third of the hostages are supposed to be back (in the first six weeks of the deal) ). So this is not enough.”

Uncertainty is severe even for relatives of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal - children, women, the sick and the elderly will also be released.

Sharone Lifschitz's parents, Yocheved and Oded, lifelong advocates of coexistence with the Palestinians, were arrested on October 7. Yocheved was released 17 days later. But the family did not know Odd's fate. When Yocheved returned, she told her family he was dead. But weeks later, hostages released in a November 2023 truce said they saw him alive.

So for the past 15 months, the family has been waiting, hoping for Odeh's safe return, while grappling with the situation in Hamas captivity for a frail old man who was shot in the wrist during a Hamas attack. The consequences of surviving for so long. .

"We are all fighting for him and we believe that, until we know otherwise, we want him back. If his destiny and strength remain and he finds a way to survive against all odds, we very much look forward to seeing him ," Lifshitz said, her voice engaging.

"(But) he sees everything he fought for being destroyed. And then he has to fall into the hands of the people who caused (the destruction). When his health is low and he's injured, he has to survive somehow. It's hard to hope for that from anyone - let alone your beloved father."

Uncertainty is greater for families whose relatives will not be released until phases two and three of the deal, when the remaining living male hostages, as well as the bodies of the deceased, are due to be returned.

When the last seven-day truce and hostage-for-prisoner swap in November 2023 released 110 of the 250 initially held hostages, many in Israel hoped it would spur more such deals and that the remaining hostages It can be brought back quickly.

But what followed was 14 months of false dawn, as Israel and Hamas repeatedly failed to reach an agreement and the number of living hostages continued to dwindle. Far-right ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu's government have claimed they have repeatedly blocked the deal, angering relatives of the hostages. This leaves those with relatives not released until phase two or three, fearing their time may never come.

Among them was Herut Nimrodi, whose son Tamir, then 18, was captured in his pajamas at a military base near the Erez crossing in the early hours of the Hamas attack , barefoot and without glasses.

Nimrodi knows the exact time of their last message - 6:49 a.m., when Tamir contacted her to say rockets were landing at the base. The family found out he had been caught when one of her daughters saw a video on Instagram. But in the months since, they have had no indication of his condition. In November, they celebrated his 20th birthday but did not know "if he had turned 19."".

"I know my son's name is not on the list (announced in the first phase) because he is a soldier and we are scared," Nimrodi said. "My concern is not just that we won't get to the next phase. But (once the first people are released) the halls (for further releases) will be smaller because there will be fewer hostages, and they will only be men."

There is also widespread recognition that, even for those who do return, returning is only the first step. Lifshitz said her mother coped "better than most of us" after being released from prison.

But for those who have been in captivity for more than 15 months, the process can be much more difficult. Previously freed hostages said they were kept in cages or in complete darkness, drugged and beaten, and in some cases suffered or witnessed sexual abuse.

Hagai Levine, a doctor who works on a forum supporting the hostages' families, said at a news conference last week that he expected "all aspects of[the hostages']physical and mental health to be affected." "Time is of the essence - recovery will be a long and painful process," he said.

Despite anxiety about the challenges ahead, families are eager for the process to begin. "Everyone in Israel - and certainly families - needs closure. We are a wounded society now. We are in the midst of trauma. We haven't even begun post-traumatic treatment," Nimrodi said. "We need healing. Seeing the hostages back is a healing process for us as a community."

Lifshitz agrees. "We know a lot of the hostages are no longer alive and we're going to have quite a funeral and mourning period," she said. "But at least, there will be some kind of closure. We'll know. At least we'll know."