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ROSH HANIKRAH, Israel — As an Israeli military convoy carrying two flag-wrapped coffins wound slowly through Israel on Wednesday, convicted killer Samir Kuntar walked down a red carpet in a Lebanese village where he waved to throngs of jubilant supporters after spending nearly three decades in Israeli prison.

In a daylong drama, the final chapter in Israel's costly 2006 war against Hezbollah came to a controversial close. Israel released Kuntar and four Hezbollah militants in return for two slain Israeli soldiers whose capture set off the 34-day conflict.

As Kuntar soaked up his first hours of freedom in Naqoura, he stood in the shadow of Hezbollah banners, printed in English to drive home to Western eyes the militant group's public relations triumph: "Pain in Israel; Joy in Lebanon."

The exchange sparked nationwide celebrations in Lebanon and mourning in Israel that reignited an unsettled debate over who won the 2006 war.

To Eli Ishmereni, a 50-year-old Israeli who stood in humid heat near the border crossing to await return of the nation's fallen soldiers, the answer is clear.

"It wasn't worth it," Ishmereni said, referring to the war. "Today, Hezbollah is even stronger, has more arms and more support."

Israel and Lebanon were united in one respect: greeting their returning fighters as heroes. Beyond that, the two nations were ever more divided.

Lebanon's fractious leadership, including Hezbollah's bitter political rivals, joined together for a ceremony at Beirut's international airport to hail Kuntar as a valiant warrior.

"Your return is a new victory," Lebanese President Michel Suleiman told the returning prisoners. "And the future with you will only be a shining march."

At a closed military base, Israel's political leaders privately consoled the families of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the slain Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah in the July 12, 2006, cross-border raid.

"Our throats are parched, our eyes have tears, and our hearts go out to the family members who struggled without a sign and never lost hope until the last moment," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said shortly before meeting with the despondent relatives.

Just what happened to Goldwasser and Regev wasn't certain until a black SUV pulled up to the Lebanese border with Israel, and Hezbollah pulled out two black coffins. Even then, some relatives held out hope that the bodies inside might not be their loved ones.

Within hours, medical tests confirmed that Goldwasser and Regev had died after the July 12 ambush, something Olmert had told Israelis to expect when he urged his coalition Cabinet to support the deal.

Along with return of Goldwasser and Regev, Israel received more information on the fate of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator captured by Lebanese militants when his plane went down in 1986.

Though the new data failed to answer the question of what happened to Arad, Israel decided to go ahead with the rest of the deal.

In exchange for the two bodies, Israel agreed to free Kuntar, a notorious militant captured by Israel in 1979 after taking part in a brutal attack that ended with the deaths of four Israelis, including two young girls.

Kuntar was a teenager when he was convicted of shooting an Israeli father and drowning him in the Mediterranean as his 4-year-old daughter looked on. Then Kuntar smashed the girl's head with a rifle butt and against seaside boulders.

Along with Kuntar, Israel released four Hezbollah militants and the bodies of nearly 200 Palestinian and Lebanese fighters killed in battles over the decades.