After more than five years in Hamas captivity, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit arrived home Tuesday.
In a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, Schalit was exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
The swap will be performed in a series of delicate stages. 477 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were released Tuesday morning and an additional 550 prisoners will be released in two months.
Schalit, 25, was moved from Gaza into Egypt where Israeli medical personnel examined him.
Subsequently, Schalit was taken to a military base in Tel Nof, Israel where he was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and embraced by his mother, father, grandfather, sister and brother.
After being welcomed home by more than 200 supporters and activists in his doorway, Schalit entered his home in Mitzpe Hila, a town in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border.
Medical examinations showed that Schalit was malnourished, pale and limping but otherwise in reasonable health. His mental health is still unknown.