18/10/2011 11:26
Palestinian prisoners' swap gets underway
The Islamist group Hamas has freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from more than five years in captivity, handing him over to Egyptian officials, telegraph.co.uk reported.
Egyptian officials who will shortly pass him on to the Israeli authorities, a Hamas military source told Reuters.
There was no immediate confirmation from Egypt or Israel that Shalit had been released.
Buses carrying 477 Palestinian prisoners earlier headed to Gaza and the West Bank in the first stage of a swap deal to free the captured Sgt Shalit.
Among those being set free in the operation, which began before dawn, are many serving life sentences for deadly attacks.