Hamas Frees Gilad Shalit in Prisoner Trade with Israel

A long and heavily guarded convoy left a prison in Israel's southern Negev desert where the majority of inmates had been held. A small group of female prisoners departed from a second jail in the center of the country.

Most prisoners will be taken to the Kerem Shalom crossing that borders Egypt and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Others will be released in the West Bank.

Egypt, which helped broker the deal, will receive Shalit from his Hamas captors and hand him over to Israel at the same time as the 477 Palestinians are officially released.

The deal received a green light from Israel's Supreme Court late Monday after it rejected petitions from the public to prevent the mass release of prisoners, many serving life sentences for deadly attacks.

Shalit, now 25, was abducted in June 2006 by militants who tunneled into Israel from the Gaza Strip and surprised his tank crew, killing two of his comrades. He has since been held incommunicado and was last seen looking pale and thin in a 2009 video shot by his captors.

Upon his release, Shalit will be flown by helicopter to an air base in the center of Israel where he will be greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reunited with his family. Later he will fly to his home in northern Israel.

In the second phase of the swap, expected to take place in about two months, a further 550 Palestinian prisoners will be freed, officials said.

HIGH PRICE

The repatriation of captured soldiers, alive or dead, has long been an emotionally charged issue for Israelis. Most have served in the military as conscripts and see it as sacrosanct. But they also feel stung by the high price they feel Israel is paying for Shalit.