As thousands of Israelis came to cheer the helicopter bringing back four female hostages from Gaza on Saturday, it was a bitter-sweet moment as the nation also mourned those left behind.

The hostages, Liri Albag, 19, Naama Levy, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Daniella Gilboa, 20, all soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, were dressed in what appeared to be military uniforms for their return to freedom.

In a display not seen in previous hostage releases, the young women had been paraded on stage by their captors and forced to wave and smile before signing release papers.