In this photo released by the Israeli Defense Ministry, released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, second right, walks with his father Noam, right, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second left, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, left, at the Tel Nof Air base in southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. / HO, Ariel Hermoni,AP Photo/ Defense Ministry 
 
 In this photo released by the Israeli Defense Ministry, released Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, second right, walks with his father Noam, right, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second left, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, left, at the Tel Nof Air base in southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. / HO, Ariel Hermoni,AP Photo/ Defense Ministry 
 
 Updated 2:45 PM EST 
 
 MITZPE HILA, Israel - The father of the Israeli soldier freed in a swap for Palestinian prisoners said his son will need time to recover from psychological and physical wounds after five years in Hamas captivity. 
 
 But he said the family of Gilad Schalit hopes the young man will lead a normal life. 
 
 Noam Schalit spoke to reporters outside the family home in the Israeli town of Mitzpe Hila. 
 
 Schalit said his son is still suffering from shrapnel wounds he suffered during his 2006 abduction by Hamas militants. He said his son is struggling with all the attention after spending the last few years in "isolation." 
 
 "Naturally he can't be exposed to so many people because he was in isolation so many days and years and couldn't interact with people in his language, and all he could do was communicate with his abductors and guards," Noam Schalit said. 
 
 He said his son hadn't said much about his captivity, only that his treatment was poor at the beginning but improved in recent years. 
 
 Looking thin, weary and dazed, Gilad Schalit had earlier emerged from more than five years in Hamas captivity on Tuesday, surrounded by Gaza militants with black face masks and green headbands who handed him over to Egyptian mediators in an exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. After a medical examination, Israeli officials said Schalit showed signs of malnutrition. 
 
 Mass rallies celebrate freed Palestinians 
 
 Netanyahu issues warning to freed Palestinians 
 
 Before he was flown to an Israel air base where he reunited with his parents, Schalit spoke to Egyptian TV in an interview Israeli officials later called "shocking." The gaunt, sallow and uncomfortable looking Schalit appeared to struggle to speak at times, and his breathing was noticeably labored as he awkwardly answered questions. 
 
 Still he said he felt good and was "very excited" to be going free. But the circumstances of his release, along with the awkward TV interview, raised questions about the conditions the 25-year-old had endured. 
 
 After a tumultuous day that included a reception with the prime minister and an emotional reunion with his family, Schalit touched down in his hometown of Mitzpe Hila in northern Israel late Tuesday on board a military helicopter. 
 
 Thousands of people jammed the streets and stood on rooftops to celebrate Schalit's return. The ecstatic crowd sang songs, waved Israeli flags, popped champagne bottles, embraced and cheered him on. A smiling Schalit -- the first Israeli soldier returned home alive in 26 years -- briefly waved to the crowd before ducking into his family's house. Police blocked access to the street to give the family privacy. 
 
 The White House welcomed the release of Schalit. 
 
 Spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama has long called for Schalit's release and is pleased that he's been reunited with this family. 
 
 Schalit, who had not been seen in public since his capture, was whisked across Gaza's border into Egypt early in the morning by armed Hamas militants in an SUV, setting the swap into motion. 
 
 Wearing a black baseball hat and gray shirt, he was seen for the first time emerging from a pickup truck and turned over to Egyptian mediators by a gang of top Hamas militants, some with their faces covered in black masks with the green headband of the Qassam brigades -- Hamas' military wing. Among those around Schalit in those first moments was Ahmed Jabari, the shadowy head of Hamas' militant wing, one of Israel's most wanted militants. 
 
 Schalit, still escorted by Hamas gunmen, was then taken to a border crossing, where an Egyptian TV crew waited to interview him before he was finally sent into Israel. 
 
 Stumbling over his words, he spoke in the interview of missing his family and friends, said he feared he would remain in captivity "many more years" and worried that the deal might fall through after learning about it last week. 
 
 "Of course I missed my family. I missed friends, meeting people to talk to people, and not to sit all day, to do the same things," he said. 
 
 In one picture taken of the interview, a Hamas gunman with black face mask and green headband of the Hamas military brigade could be seen lurking in the background. 
 
 Israeli officials reacted angrily to the interview, saying it was inappropriate to force Schalit to answer questions in such difficult circumstances. But the interviewer, Shahira Amin, said he had not been coerced. 
 
 Later, video released by the Israeli military showed the weak Schalit being helped into an army jeep after crossing the border into Israel, and walking gingerly down some steps as he exited a military caravan after changing into a fresh army uniform. Military officials said a physical exam had found him to be in "good" condition, though he showed signs of malnutrition and lack of exposure to the sun. 
 
 Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (C) and his father Noam (L) arrive near their home town following Gilad's release after over five years of captivity by Gaza-based militant groups, following a landmark deal with Hamas, on October 18, 2011. / Getty Images 
 
 Schalit was then flown to an air base in central Israel, where he was hugged by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and reunited with his family. Video footage showed Schalit's father, Noam, hugging and kissing his son, before saying "come see your mother" and leading him away for a family reunion. 
 
 Speaking afterward, Netanyahu said he understood the pain of Israeli families who lost relatives in Palestinian violence, but that Israel's ethos of doing everything possible to bring its soldiers home safely forced him to act. 
 
 He also issued a staunch warning to the freed militants. 
 
 "We will continue to fight terror and every released terrorist who returns to terror will be held accountable," he said. 
 
 More than 450 Palestinians were transferred from Israeli prisons to the West Bank and Gaza, where massive celebratory rallies festooned with green Hamas flags were held. In Gaza City, tens of thousands crammed into an open lot where a huge stage was set up, decorated with a mural depicting Schalit's capture in a June 2006 raid on an army base near the Gaza border. The crowd exhorted militants to seize more soldiers for future swaps. 
 
 The rest of the prisoners -- about 550 more -- are to be released in a second phase in two months. 
 
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 next ||||| The question of whether the exchange would lead to more abductions of Israeli soldiers hung in the air on Tuesday for both Israelis and Palestinians. 
 
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 The armed wing of Hamas made clear that for it the conflict with Israel was hardly over. “We will not give up until prisons are shut down,” a masked spokesman for the group, who identified himself as Abu Obaida, said in a televised statement in Gaza. “A chapter has ended but there are other chapters.” 
 
 Abu Obaida also said that Hamas treated Sergeant Shalit “according to the Islamic morals,” while Israel “deliberately dealt with our prisoners with torture, compulsion and revenge.” 
 
 One of the freed prisoners, Yehya Sinwar, a co-founder of an early security wing of Hamas, was defiant. He promised “to work hard to free all prisoners, especially those who serve high sentences, whatever the price was.” 
 
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 Another was Wafa al-Bass, who has been in prison since 2005 when she used the chance for treatment at an Israeli hospital as a pretext to bring a suicide belt through the Erez crossing — trying to explode it when caught. Upon arrival in Gaza, she said that Palestinians should “take another Shalit” every year until all the remaining 5,000 Palestinians prisoners in Israeli jails went free. 
 
 Israel displayed a calibrated mix of relieved celebration and acknowledgment — both of the pain and death that the released Palestinians caused many families and of the risk that their release may pose to Israelis. 
 
 Several petitions to block or alter the exchange had been rejected by Israel’s high court on Monday. The scene at the courtroom was emotionally charged, with some families who lost members in terrorist attacks assailing the Shalit family and the government. 
 
 Mr. Netanyahu wrote letters to the bereaved families saying he understood their heartache. 
 
 “I know that the price is very heavy for you,” he wrote. “I understand the difficulty to countenance that the evil people who perpetrated the appalling crimes against your loved ones will not pay the full price that they deserve. During these moments I hope that you will find solace that I and the entire nation of Israel embrace you and share your pain.” 
 
 On Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu, in his remarks at Tel Nof base, said Israel would continue to fight terrorism and warned that any released prisoner who returned to violence was “taking his life into his hands.” 
 
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 The deal is likely to strengthen Hamas within Palestinian politics, adding to the difficulties for President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and efforts to revive the peace process with Israel. Egypt, a key broker of the deal, will likely gain, as will Turkey, a supporter of Hamas. Hamas may even move its headquarters to Egypt from the Syrian capital, Damascus, where President Bashar al-Assad is facing strong popular revolt. And if the prisoner exchange emboldens Hamas to carry out more actions against Israel, that would likely empower the hawkish right in Israel. 
 
 Sergeant Shalit, the first captive Israeli soldier returned home alive in 26 years, was unexpectedly interviewed on Egyptian television before being handed over to Israel. Sitting in a blue checked shirt and speaking Hebrew, he smiled and reflected on the questions before answering them. 
 
 Asked if he had feared that he would never get out, Sergeant Shalit answered that he worried it would take many more years although in the past month he had suspected a deal was in the works. He said he was told of his release a week ago. 
 
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 Asked what he missed most in prison, he replied, “My family and my friends and seeing and talking with people. The worst was having to do the same thing every day over and over.” 
 
 He was told that Israel still had thousands of prisoners and was asked if he would like them released. “I will be happy for them to be released if they don’t return to fight us,” he said. “I very much hope that this deal will advance peace.” 
 
 Rafah, the most isolated part of Gaza, was where the Shalit saga began and ended. In June 2006, Hamas and two other militant factions raided an Israeli military post at Kerem Shalom via a long tunnel beneath the Rafah sands under the border, capturing the young soldier, then a corporal. He was never seen in public during his captivity. On Tuesday, Egyptian television showed Sergeant Shalit being rushed through the Rafah crossing terminal from Gaza into Egypt accompanied by Hamas and Egyptian officials. 
 
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 Soon afterward, an Israeli military statement said: “Gilad Shalit crossed the border into Israel, ending over five years in captivity.” 
 
 Sergeant Shalit — who was promoted twice while in captivity — was brought to the Tel Nof base after his medical check, which took longer than expected, raising concern about his health. At the base where he reunited with his family and met Mr. Netanyahu, he also met Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the military chief of staff. 
 
 After a more extensive medical examination and some time with the officials and his family, Sergeant Shalit and his family were transported by helicopter to their home in northern Israel. Reporters and onlookers were barred from his neighborhood to give the family a measure of privacy. Chiefs of major Israeli news organizations vowed to respect the restrictions. 
 
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 Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, told Al Jazeera television that the first step of the agreement was complete. Speaking from the Rafah crossing point, Mr. Barhoum warned Israel against “maneuvering or playing with any article of the agreement.” He added that Egyptian mediators had assured Hamas that they would not allow Israel to violate the agreement. 
 
 Both Israel and the divided Palestinian leadership — Fatah runs the West Bank while Hamas controls the Gaza Strip — had made elaborate preparations for the handover of the prisoners, many of them held far longer than Sergeant Shalit. 
 
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 Throngs of excited Palestinians woke to mosque loudspeakers crying “God is great!” and “Victory to God!” as they awaited the arrival of buses carrying the 477 prisoners. Another 550 are expected to be released in two months. Two female prisoners due to be sent to Gaza were demanding instead to be sent to Egypt. Turkey was expecting to receive about 10 prisoners, according to its foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. The Anatolian news agency reported that around 40 Palestinians would be relocated to Turkey, Syria and Egypt and Turkey. 
 
 Shortly after dawn, the Hamas-run government took busloads of journalists in a tightly controlled media operation to the Rafah crossing Armed members of Hamas’s militant wing, the Qassam Brigades, lined the main highway to the crossing, wearing black and green bandanas and balaclavas. Some carried Kalashnikov assault rifles while others bore rocket-propelled grenade launchers. 
 
 Many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the guards — at some points posted every 15 feet — had apparently been deployed to forestall disruptions. A celebratory rally was planned at Brigades Park in one of Gaza’s largest open spaces. There a stage had been erected for the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniya, to address the crowd and welcome the returnees. 
 
 The buses carrying the prisoners drove through a huge crowd of Hamas police and a drum band and honor guard. The men disembarked one by one and ran a gantlet of people who cheered them, held up camera phones, saluted and patted them on the back. Some were given sashes with the Palestinian colors. 
 
 All along Salahuddin Street, the main north-south road that runs the length of the Gaza Strip, Hamas activists had attached Islamist banners to streetlights on Monday. 
 
 Dozens of the released prisoners attended a reception given by President Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank. Although the exchange was negotiated by his rivals in Hamas, the release of prisoners was a source of national celebration. School was canceled so that children could participate. 
 
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 “We thank God that you returned safe and sound to your families, your brothers, and your homeland after this forced disappearance because you struggled for your homeland,” Mr. Abbas told the freed prisoners and well wishers. “We pray that God enables us to see the rest of our sisters and brothers freed in this yard. Your sacrifices, and efforts and work were not in vain. You worked and struggled and sacrificed. You will see the results of your sacrifices in the independent Palestinian state.” 
 
 At Rafah, a woman arrived with a photograph of her son, who was killed in the raid that captured Gilad Shalit. He was Mohammad Azmi Firwana, 23, from Khan Younis. 
 
 “I have come to greet the prisoners because they are all like my sons and daughters,” said the woman, Ahlam Firwana. “We have not got Mohammad’s body back yet. We have heard nothing.” ||||| Gilad Schalit's father says his son has begun a long healing process; says Gilad suffered from a lack of sunlight, interaction with others. 
 
 Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad 
 
 Noam Schalit said that Gilad's homecoming from captivity in the Gaza Strip was like experiencing the rebirth of his son, speaking with reporters outside the family home in Mitzpe Hila on Tuesday, and shared some details of his captivity. 
 
 
 
 
 
 "Gilad is happy to be at home," Noam said, explaining that the public exposure was difficult for his son. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Schalit stressed that Gilad was suffering after being "in isolation so many days and years." "He had no connection with his people, with his own his language." 
 
 
 
 Noam said the family felt as if it "was experiencing the rebirth of their son," and thanked supporters for their efforts in the long campaign to bring his son home. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Noam 
 
 said he hoped his son's healing process would be as quick as possible, after more than five years in captivity. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gilad said that at the beginning he was held in difficult conditions, Noam recounted, adding that his conditions later improved. 
 
 
 
 Noam said that Gilad feels well, but suffers some health problems due to his lengthy solitary confinement and maltreatment, including problems related to a lack of sunlight. 
 
 
 
 He is being treated by the IDF, Noam said. 
 
 
 
 
 
 "We, of course, thank the public that supported us all this way and all the activists who were with us this whole time, accompanying us until the very last step," Noam said. 
 
 
 
 "We want to thank IDF officials, and the government, who helped complete this operation." 
 
 
 
 
 
 Schalit said that he appreciated the hard work of "the government, prime minister, and defense minister." 
 
 
 
 ||||| TEL NOF AIR BASE, Israel (AP) – Looking thin, weary and dazed, an Israeli soldier returned home Tuesday from more than five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners whose joyful families greeted them with massive celebrations. 
 
 Sgt. Gilad Shalit, in a brief but controversial interview with Egyptian TV before being transferred to Israel, said he was "very excited to taste freedom and had missed his family and friends." He said he feared he would remain in captivity "many more years" and worried since being told of the deal last week that last-minute hitches might cause it to collapse. 
 
 "Of course I missed my family. I missed friends, meeting people to talk to people, and not to sit all day, to do the same things," he said. 
 
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 In a press conference at the Tel Nof airbase in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Gilad Shalit with "Shalom Gilad. Welcome back to Israel. How good to have you back home," the BBC reports. 
 
 Shalit was later flown to his home in Mitzpe Hila, in the north of Israel, where thousands were waiting to welcome him. According to the BBC, Shalit told his grandfather that he is really tired and wants to sleep. 
 
 Shalit's father told reporters outside the family's home in Mitzpe Hila that his son will need time to recover from psychological and physical wounds after five years in Hamas captivity. Shalit's father also said his son is still suffering from shrapnel wounds he suffered during his 2006 abduction by Hamas militants. He says his son is struggling with all the attention after spending the last few years in "isolation." 
 
 In Gaza, tens of thousands of flag-waving Palestinians celebrated the homecoming Tuesday of hundreds of prisoners swapped for an Israeli soldier, as political leaders jockeyed for credit for the most significant prisoner release by Israel in nearly three decades. 
 
 In Gaza City, a large crowd crammed into a sandy lot, where a huge stage was set up, decorated with a mural depicting Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit's capture in a June 2006 at an army base near the Gaza border. Thousands hoisted green Hamas flags. 
 
 Many in the crowd were overcome with joy. 
 
 Azhar Abu Jawad, 30, celebrated the return of a brother who had been sentenced to life for killing an Israeli in 1992. She said she last saw him eight years ago, before Israel banned visits by Gazans. 
 
 "My happiness is indescribable," she said. "We'll get him a bride and everything. I just spoke to him. He's so happy. This is a reminder, God doesn't forget anyone." 
 
 In the West Bank, released prisoners were taken to the grave of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greeted them, and several thousand people filled the courtyard outside his headquarters to celebrate. 
 
 Abbas addressed jubilant crowds from his compound, Ma'an News Agency reports: "We pray that God enables us to see the rest of our sisters and brothers freed in this yard. Your sacrifices, and efforts and work were not in vain. You worked and struggled and sacrificed. You will see the results of your sacrifices in the independent Palestinian state." 
 
 Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in June 2006 by Hamas militants and held captive in the Gaza strip. The most recent video message shows the soldier in September 2009, saying he had been "waiting and yearning" a long time for his release, according to a BBC translation. 
 
 Last week, Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas reached an agreement on Shalit's release, exchanging over a thousand Palestinian prisoners for the soldier. Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday. 550 other Palestinians will be freed in the next two months. The majority of those released today will return to the Gaza Strip. Some 30 of them will be deported to countries such as Jordan, Turkey and Qatar. About a hundred will go to the West Bank. The deal is perceived as an important political victory for Hamas, despite the fact that the organization was unable to include the release of prominent Palestinian Marwan Barghouti in the negotiations. 
 
 The deal that arranged for Shalit's release sparked controversy in Israel, as the list of Palestinians who will be released includes some convicted of killing Israelis in the past. According to the Associated Press, the deal was the most lopsided prisoner swap in Israel's history. Families of terror victims petitioned against the deal before the Israeli High Court on Monday, hoping to delay the prisoners' swap. 
 
 Last week, 27-year-old Shvuel Schijvenschuurder, whose parents and siblings were killed in a suicide bombing, defaced a memorial for former president Rabin to protest the agreement. 
 
 However, according to Haaretz, Israeli president Shimon Peres said in a meeting with the victims' families on Monday that he understood the families' pain, yet that it was his duty to save Shalit's life. 
 
 In his press conference at Tel Nof airbase, Netanyahu reiterated this sentiment. "Today is a happy day and a sad day for Israel. When I returned to the position of Prime Minister in 2009, I had a important task waiting for me: to return our soldier Gilad Shalit home," he said, according to Haaretz. 
 
 Netanyahu also issued a staunch warning to the freed Palestinian militants. "We will continue to fight terror and every released terrorist who returns to terror will be held accountable," he said. 
 
 Those concerns were underscored with comments by one of the freed prisoners, Hamas militant leader Yehia Sinwar, who called on the movement to kidnap more soldiers. 
 
 In the video above, watch footage of Gilad Shalit posted by the Israel Defense Forces. 
 
 Below, Netanyahu's address:
– Israel soldier Gilad Shalit is home and “happy,” but he’s still recovering from five years’ imprisonment, his father says. “In isolation,” Gilad “had no connection with his people, with his own language,” Noam Shalit told members of the media, including the Jerusalem Post. Lack of sunlight and mistreatment in captivity have contributed to health problems, Shalit said, though he noted that prison conditions improved over the years. Before Gilad’s release, he was interviewed by Egyptian TV, and speaking seemed difficult for him, CBS News notes. Media attention has been difficult for Gilad, his father said. “Naturally he can't be exposed to so many people because he was in isolation so many days and years.” Noam Shalit thanked supporters and acknowledged “the price we are paying for Gilad’s release,” an exchange of some 1,027 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. One freed prisoner said Palestinians should kidnap "another Shalit" every year until all Palestinians are released, notes the New York Times. For video of the release and homecoming, click here.