Freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit arrived safe and sound in his northern Israeli hometown, feeling "good" in his first day of freedom after more than five years in Hamas captivity, but suffering small injuries from shrapnel wounds.
In what was an arduous and emotional day for Israelis and Palestinians, Shalit won his release Tuesday morning in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, whose walk to freedom drew cheers from thousands in Gaza and the West Bank.
"We can say that we have experienced the rebirth of a son," his father, Noam Shalit, told reporters.
"Gilad has come home after an exhausting and long struggle. As I have said quite often, we were told that we were tilting at windmills. It was exhausting, but ultimately we managed to bring him home. As you have seen today he came home and walked up the steps that he left, and has come home, went through the door that he left so many days ago, 1,942 days ago."
Shalit came via Egypt because it acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, which do not have relations. He was given medical checks that showed him to be in good health and cleared him to return home. He was flown to Tel Nof air base, where he was reunited with his family and saluted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on arrival there.
A helicopter flew him and his family home from the air base to the northern Galilee village of Mitzpe Hila. He made his way by vehicle from the helipad to the village and was whisked into his home.
Greeted along the road by hundreds of chanting and flag-waving supporters, people in the Galilee community laid out white roses and hung banners to welcome Shalit back, erupting in joy at the return of the young man who became an international cause célèbre.
Noam Shalit grabbed him in a bear hug, held him tight and kissed him as they were reunited at the air base. The father told Israeli television earlier it was the happiest day of his life.
"He basically came out of a dark hole, in a dark basement, and came out of that to a great crowd. I'm sure that this was an amazing experience for him when he arrived here at our village to see all of this going on. "
Noam Shalit said his son "feels good" and is "very happy to be home."
"But he is suffering from a number of small injuries that have remained with him because he wasn't treated properly. Shrapnel wounds, and also the results of a lack of sunlight. Now he has had extensive medical tests and he will have appropriate treatment from the Israeli medical forces," he said.
Noam Shalit said his son couldn't communicate with people in his own language in captivity. "The only thing he was able to do is communicate with his abductors and his guards."
"Of course it's difficult for him to just expose himself to so many people because he's been in isolation, really in isolation, for so many days and so many years."
He told reporters that conditions in captivity at the beginning of his son's ordeal were difficult but they eventually improved. He said Gilad was able to listen to the radio and was able to watch some television, particularly the Arab TV stations.
The father thanked all of the people who showed up to welcome his son "so warmly, so supportively with such solidarity and such warmth" and addressed the concerns of the survivors of people whose relatives were slain by some of the Palestinian inmates who were freed.
"We definitely identified with them and totally understand their anguish. And we understand the price that they are paying for Gilad's freedom."
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق