Major General (ret.) Nitzan Alon, head of the Hostage Administration, said that "returning the hostages is the rehabilitation and recovery process of Israeli society." At the command post for prisoners and missing persons, Alon said: "Between the night of October 7-8, you began operating amid chaos with thousands of people out of contact, and through painstaking work, you determined the fate of the hostages. It hurts for everyone we couldn't save; many people here are scarred and emotionally wounded with a sense of responsibility and sometimes guilt." He added that "it's important to see these things in a balanced way; within the events of battle and the intensity of war, there is definitely reason to be proud of this good work. So there is and will be throughout this day a combination of much joy and sadness and tears of happiness for those returning. The return of hostages is a process of healing, rehabilitation and recovery for Israeli society."