Freed Palestinian prisoner comes home to find family alive

radio news

A freed Palestinian prisoner was overwhelmed to find out his family were alive, after believing they had been killed.

Shadi Abu Sido told the BBC an Israeli prison officer had lied to him and told him his family had been killed, and his home bombed.

Mr Sido spent 20 months in an Israeli prison and was one of nearly 2,000 prisoners exchanged for Israeli hostages, under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal.

But when he arrived in Gaza, he was overwhelmed to be greeted by his family.

Israel’s prison service said they operated within the law and are not aware of any such incidents taking place.

The BBC’s Lucy Williamson reports.