REUTERS

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, greets Gilad Shalit at Tel Nof air base in central Israel in this handout picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office.

Israeli army medical officers visited freed soldier Gilad Shalit at his home in northern Israel Wednesday, as the former Hamas captive began his first full day of freedom, after being released the previous day in a prisoner exchange deal.

A military spokesman refused to give details of the visit reported by the Ha'aretz daily, saying he could not comment on dealings with Shalit, who spent five years and four months in captivity after being snatched in a cross-border raid launched from the Gaza Strip.

Prior to Shalit's release, the military spokesman had drafted an agreement, signed by Israel's main media outlets, that Shalit and his family would not be harassed by journalists in the first 10

days following his return home.

Shalit was spotted later Wednesday taking a walk in his home village of Mitzpe Hila.

He was wearing a black baseball cap and dark glasses, and was accompanied by his mother Aviva, a senior officer from the army's medical corps, and police, who have been stationed near the Shalit family home to prevent media and well-wishers from intruding into their privacy.

Shalit's father Noam told reporters that his son's condition was “good” and that he had slept well during the night.

“He needs quiet in order to recover, and we hope to return to routine as quickly as possible,” Noam Shalit said.

Late Tuesday, as Shalit returned to his family house, Noam Shalit told an impromptu news conference that his son was still suffering from minor shrapnel wounds obtained in the raid in which he was captured, as well as the impact of years without sunlight.

Shalit - who looked painfully thin - returned home to a meal of some of his favourite foods late Tuesday, media reported, including schnitzel, fries and pasta.

Media reported that, apart from his immediate family, the only person allowed into the Shalit home in the near future would be an army psychologist.

One exception was French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot, who visited the family late Tuesday, bearing a message from President Nicolas Sarkozy. The president wrote that he was “overjoyed” at the release of Shalit - who holds dual Israeli-French citizenship - and invited him to visit France, “when you feel ready.”

Shalit will be closely monitored in the coming weeks, under the responsibility of the Defence Ministry's rehabilitation department.

Army intelligence officers, meanwhile, were waiting for a green light from medical authorities before asking Shalit about his experiences, in the hope of gleaning information which could be of use to Israel.

Shalit was freed Tuesday in a prisoner exchange swap, as Israel released 477 Palestinians from its prisons - the first of 1027

inmates to be freed. The remaining 550 will be set free in about two months' time.

Like Shalit in Israel, the returned Palestinian prisoners came home to a hero's welcome. Those not exiled abroad as part of the deal were received in official ceremonies in Gaza or Ramallah, before being allowed home to rejoin their families.

Unlike Shalit however, their first few days of freedom will not be spent alone with their families. Hamas has provided tents that have been erected outside the freed prisoners' homes, to allow well-wishers to come and pay their respects.

In the Gaza Strip, Hamas also gave 2000 dollars each to the families of the freed prisoners.

Ex-prisoners from the West Bank who were exiled Gaza under the deal but have no homes in there are being accommodated in three hotels, at Hamas' expense. - Sapa-dpa