Freed soldier says thanks

Gilad Shalit is a former Israeli soldier who, in his first public remarks since being released in October, thanked his supporters. He appeared in a brief video clip shown to activists and broadcast on Israeli television, saying he had heard about their efforts to secure his release and believed those efforts were a deciding factor in his return home.

Gilad Shalit was released as part of a prisoner exchange with the Islamist group Hamas. Israel agreed to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in return for his release.

His brief video remarks were shown at a gathering of activists and were broadcast on Israeli television. The report identifying the event noted Tel Aviv as the location for the coverage.

Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in October as part of the prisoner exchange connected to Gilad Shalit’s release.

Yes. The article states that Israel had released 477 prisoners in October and that the rest of the more-than-1,000 prisoners agreed in the deal were expected to be freed within a week.

Shalit expressed gratitude, saying that while he was in captivity he heard about the supporters’ efforts to secure his release and was convinced those efforts were among the deciding factors that contributed to his return home.

The article describes his remarks as a brief video clip, indicating it was a recorded message that was shown to activists and broadcast on television.

The article reports that Israel agreed to free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit’s release, that 477 were released in October, and that the remaining prisoners were expected to be freed within a week.