 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. 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. Last week, Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas reached an agreement on Shalit's release, exchanging over a thousand Palestinian prisoners for the soldier. Photo 
 
 Asked what he missed most in prison, he replied, “My family and my friends and seeing and talking with people. "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. 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. / 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. 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. The rest of the prisoners -- about 550 more -- are to be released in a second phase in two months. There a stage had been erected for the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniya, to address the crowd and welcome the returnees. Dozens of the released prisoners attended a reception given by President Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank.
– 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.