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GAZA, July 3 (UPI) -- The Palestinian group holding BBC reporter Alan Johnston in Gaza released him to Hamas Wednesday, the British network reported.
Johnston, in an interview with his employer, called his four months in captivity "an appalling experience."
"It became quite hard to imagine normal life again," he said. "I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room."
Television footage showed him looking thin but smiling after his release.
Johnston was taken to the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader and disputed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. He was to be transferred to Israel for medical treatment before returning home to Scotland.
When kidnapped, Johnston was the only European reporter based in Gaza. He was abducted almost four months ago by a group using the name Army of Islam. The group is led by Mumtaz Dogmush, head of a powerful clan in Gaza that opposes Hamas.
Hamas leaders, who have controlled Gaza since driving out the Fatah Party, had refused to negotiate with the group and threatened it with destruction if Johnston was harmed. The Army of Islam threatened to kill Johnston if attempts were made to free him by force.
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