Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been released by the Hamas militants who had held him for more than five years.
His freedom came at the price of a prisoner swap that let more than 1,000 Palestinians out of Israeli jails.
Shalit, a sergeant, was freed in Egypt by Hamas gunmen who whisked him across the border and handed him over to Egyptian mediators. At the same time, Israel sent buses carrying hundreds of Palestinians prisoners into Egypt on their way to Gaza, where they will be greeted by a massive celebration.
In the first public sighting of Shalit since he was captured, the 25-year-old soldier appeared pale and thin but otherwise healthy in a brief video clip broadcast on Egyptian TV.
The Palestinian prisoners, who included dozens of people who had been serving life sentences for deadly attacks, were returning to heroes' welcomes, while dozens of people prepared a joyous homecoming in Shalit's tiny hometown in northern Israel.
The deal, the most lopsided prisoner swap in Israeli history, caps a five-and-a-half-year saga that has seen multiple Israeli military offensives in Gaza, an Israeli blockade on the territory and numerous rounds of failed negotiations.
The swap got under way as Hamas moved Shalit across Gaza's border with Egypt, while Israel simultaneously began freeing the Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported that a high-level Hamas delegation arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to hand over Shalit and to greet the returning prisoners.
In an elaborate operation, Shalit was then to be taken across Egypt's border into Israel and flown to the Tel Nof air base in central Israel to be reunited with his family.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was at the air force base with Shalit's family.
Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been released by the Hamas militants who had held him for more than five years.
His freedom came at the price of a prisoner swap that let more than 1,000 Palestinians out of Israeli jails.
Shalit, a sergeant, was freed in Egypt by Hamas gunmen who whisked him across the border and handed him over to Egyptian mediators. At the same time, Israel sent buses carrying hundreds of Palestinians prisoners into Egypt on their way to Gaza, where they will be greeted by a massive celebration.
In the first public sighting of Shalit since he was captured, the 25-year-old soldier appeared pale and thin but otherwise healthy in a brief video clip broadcast on Egyptian TV.
The Palestinian prisoners, who included dozens of people who had been serving life sentences for deadly attacks, were returning to heroes' welcomes, while dozens of people prepared a joyous homecoming in Shalit's tiny hometown in northern Israel.
The deal, the most lopsided prisoner swap in Israeli history, caps a five-and-a-half-year saga that has seen multiple Israeli military offensives in Gaza, an Israeli blockade on the territory and numerous rounds of failed negotiations.
The swap got under way as Hamas moved Shalit across Gaza's border with Egypt, while Israel simultaneously began freeing the Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported that a high-level Hamas delegation arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to hand over Shalit and to greet the returning prisoners.
In an elaborate operation, Shalit was then to be taken across Egypt's border into Israel and flown to the Tel Nof air base in central Israel to be reunited with his family.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was at the air force base with Shalit's family.