Five Hezbollah prisoners, released by Israel as part of a controversial swap, have been welcomed home as heroes by thousands on their return to Lebanon. The five include Samir Qantar who has been in prison for almost thirty years for the killing of two Israelis and a young girl during a guerrilla raid in 1979. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made a rare public appearance at the celebrations. Earlier, the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers taken prisoner by Hezbollah in 2006 were returned as part of the deal to Israel. Their abduction sparked off a month-long invasion of Lebanon by Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than one thousand, mostly Lebanese, people. As part of the deal Israel will also hand over the bodies of some 200 Hezbollah and Palestinian fighters, Deutsche Welle reported.