Israeli soldier freed in prisoner swap with Palestine

Hamas has handed over Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Hamas militants in 2006, to Egyptian mediators after five years' captivity, as part of a prisoner swap deal with Israel, said Hamas officials.

Early on October 18 Gilad Shalit, 25, was taken to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, to be handed over to Egypt in the presence of Israeli representatives. Israeli Defence Forces later confirmed they had identified Sgt Shalit was alive and well.

More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are due to be freed. The first 477 are being released on Tuesday. The remaining 550 are scheduled to be released next month.

Sources have told the BBC that Hamas guards are still with Sgt Shalit, and would only withdraw when all the Palestinian prisoners to be released had left Israel.

On October 17 the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a bid by families of victims of militant attacks to delay the swap.

BBC