Minutes before Hamas terrorists freed 14 Israeli hostages Sunday, Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon was confidently discussing geopolitics with colleagues on Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’Emek when something stopped him and pushed him out of his comfort zone.

Gripping his head and sighing deeply, Tibon said: “I’ve been waiting for this picture for 51 days.”

The picture was of members of Tibon’s own kibbutz, Nahal Oz, being released after nearly two months of Hamas captivity. Tibon, who had survived the Hamas onslaught of October 7 in his home there, was uncharacteristically seized with emotion.

That jarring shift underlined the duality that many Israelis are feeling about the hostage deal with Hamas, a reviled enemy most Israeli Jews wish to see destroyed.

However, the 200 or so hostages being held by the group have forced many to grapple with accepting difficult wartime compromises.

Tibon’s own family survived thanks to the quick action of his father Noam, a retired general, who extracted Tibon, his family and others from Nahal Oz when it was cut off and under attack.

Amir Tibon has been thinking especially of Dafna Elyakim, a 15-year-old girl from Nahal Oz who was taken with her little sister, Ela, Tibon told colleagues in Mishmar Ha’emek, which is hosting evacuees from the south.

“I worry about all of them, all the three members of our kibbutz who are coming and the four still being held hostage,” he said. “But I’m telling you: Dafna was the one I thought the most about. She was the sunshine of the kibbutz.”

After studying the first pictures of the released hostages on their way back home, Tibon said several times with relief: “They look the same.” But his forehead creased with worry at the sight of the third hostage, Elma Avraham, 84, lying down in an ambulance during the transfer.

“She’s in a completely different state,” said Tibon, 34. Avraham was hospitalized with life-threatening health issues immediately upon her return.

The deal was the third phase of an exchange of 50 Israelis in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners, some of them terrorists, who are jailed in Israel.

The exchanges have taken place during a 4-day ceasefire that is scheduled to expire on Tuesday but may be extended. Israel is prepared to extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 more hostages freed.

Among those released Sunday was Avigail Idan, 4, an American-Israeli citizen from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose parents were murdered.

Hundreds of evacuated residents from Kfar Aza, from where 10 of the hostages freed Sunday were abducted, celebrated Sunday evening at an event hall at Shefayim in central Israel, as they watched news of the release. Kibbutz members erupted in cheers at the first glimpses of their neighbors in videos from Gaza.

Back at the temporary home of Nahal Oz members, the atmosphere was of quiet satisfaction at the release, but also resentment over being forced into negotiating with Hamas.

“We want two things. To see Hamas destroyed and to free the hostages. And right now, the latter outweighs the former. That’s the trade-off,” said Nadav Peretz, 43.

He survived the massacre thanks to the fact that his home has two sheltered areas. The terrorists searched one but overlooked the other, where Peretz and his partner were hiding.

Rotem Katz, a 32-year-old math teacher who is responsible for Nahal Oz’s emergency services, doesn’t even want to discuss the deal with Hamas and whether it might be extended.

“No, I don’t even pose the question to myself. I mean I know it’s a dilemma but it’s not mine,” he told The Times of Israel in between phone calls.

At Mishmar Ha’emek, Katz is coordinating with troops on the ground, giving them instructions on how to use the kibbutz’s various facilities, but also keeping track of how the troops leave each home and building in which they garrison. He tells a lieutenant to send him a picture of a resident’s home after a platoon had camped there.

He’s not worried the soldiers would trash the kibbutz, he said. “But I’m pedantic and this is my way of being there to make sure everything is ticking along without being there,” Katz added.

Last week, a company sergeant serving in Nahal Oz, Dan Cohen, left a letter on the door of Amir Tibon’s home in Nahal Oz.

“The thought of having strangers in your home can’t be easy, even if it’s Israel Defense Forces soldiers. We did our best to take care of the place, clean it and water the plants,” wrote Cohen, before thanking the Tibons and wishing them a speedy return.

Nahal Oz because it is the closest Israeli locale to Gaza City, whose eastern edges are situated about 1.6 kilometers, or one mile, from the kibbutz. Troops have taken over as the IDF conducts a massive military campaign to topple Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attack, during which some 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 more taken hostage.

Some 14,000 Palestinians have died in the Strip as a result of the Israeli incursion, according to an unverified tally by Hamas-controlled authorities.

Delays in the release of hostages on Saturday were especially infuriating to many Israelis who feel uneasy about the deal and ceasefire.

Yaki Sagi, a 52-year-old member of Kibbutz Be’eri, where terrorists killed more than 80 people, calls the hostages “our most painful spot.”

“Children, mothers. You want them back so you end up becoming a pawn in the hands of Hamas,” he told The Times of Israel on Saturday.

Peretz said the deal was “infuriating,  nerve-racking, outrageous and vulnerable.”

“But you keep your mind on those kids,” he added.

Yael Raz-Lahiani, a mother of three from Nahal Oz who also survived thanks to her home’s second sheltered area, noted that while the focus is on women and children, “we need them all back. The dads too,” she said.

Two men, Omri Miran and Tzahi Idan, from Nahal Oz are believed to be held captive by Hamas.

In addition to retrieving the abducted, Peretz focuses on another, more long-term goal: population growth for Nahal Oz. It may appear unlikely, he conceded, but in fact, it’s within reach and just around the bend, he insisted.

“We were in the midst of a population boom when the attack happened,” said Peretz, who became the kibbutz’s casualties officer on top of his pre-attack duties as growth manager of Nahal Oz, which has about 400 residents.

Like countless Israelis who feared the war would depopulate the area near the border with Gaza, Peretz expected growth to stop or turn negative in Nahal Oz, where terrorists murdered 14 members and abducted another seven.

“But the opposite is happening,” said Peretz, a risk-assessment professional. “We’re getting so many inquiries by people who want to move to Nahal Oz when we return.”

He dismisses concerns that interest could fade or might not be serious.

“It’s serious enough for me to commit to a figure,” Peretz said. “Within the next five years, Nahal Oz will double its population.”