Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was reunited with his family on Tuesday after emerging frail but cheerful from 1,941 days of Hamas captivity, in a deal that saw 477 Palestinian prisoners walk free.
“Gilad has returned home,” the Israeli army’s chief spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai told reporters after the soldier crossed into Israel after first being handed to Egyptian officials by Hamas. He described Shalit’s state of health as “good and satisfactory”.
Shortly afterwards, 477 Palestinian prisoners were freed to tumultuous scenes of joy and celebration, with thousands of family members and supporters welcoming them with tears and embraces. Under terms of the deal, Israel will release a total of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of whom were serving life sentences for their involvement in deadly attacks, in what is the highest price ever paid by the Jewish state for the release of one man.
Shalit’s homecoming was kept far from the media eye, with the first glimpse of him being several seconds of footage from Egyptian state TV, which showed him wearing black baseball cap and a loose grey shirt. The young Israeli has been held by militants in Gaza for more than five years, and his release sparked emotional scenes across the Jewish state.
Several hours after his arrival in Israel, Shalit was reunited with his family at Tel Nof airbase near Tel Aviv after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.
“Hello Gilad, welcome back to Israel. It’s so good to have you back home,” Netanyahu said, embracing the soldier who was wearing a fresh pair of military fatigues. Shalit’s return to Israel marks the first time in 26 years that a captured soldier has been brought back alive to the Jewish state.
Within minutes of the Israeli announcement, Egyptian state TV began broadcasting a pre-recorded interview with Shalit, who could be seen smiling as he answered the questions.
“Of course I missed my family, I missed going out and meeting people, speaking with people,” he said in Hebrew, which was dubbed into Arabic.
He also said he hoped all the remaining Palestinian prisoners would be released. “I would be very happy if they were all released, they just shouldn’t return to fighting Israel.”
Meanwhile in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, thousands of excited family members celebrated as the 296 newly-released prisoners crossed the border. In the West Bank, hundreds gathered by Ofer prison to greet their relatives, only to learn that Israel had decided to drop the detainees off elsewhere sparking angry stone throwing. After they were released, the 117 prisoners were shipped directly to Ramallah where many thousands greeted them, cheering and waving flags.
