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BBC NEWS | Middle East | BBC's Gaza correspondent released

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released by kidnappers in the Gaza Strip after 114 days in captivity. Mr Johnston, 45, was handed over to armed men in Gaza City. He said his ordeal was like "being buried alive" but it was "fantastic" to be free. And he described how he had been unable to see the sun for three months, and had once been chained for 24 hours. Rallies worldwide had called for Mr Johnston's release. An online petition was signed by some 200,000 people. Mr Johnston's father Graham said he and his wife were "overjoyed" at their son's release. "It's been 114 days of a living nightmare," he said. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also expressed his joy at Mr Johnston's release. The BBC reporter was handed over to officials of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He later appeared beside Hamas leader Ismail Haniya and thanked everyone who had worked for his release. He is now at the British Consulate in Jerusalem. Hamas gunmen overran Gaza last month, expelling their rivals from the Fatah faction and prompting its leader, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to sack Mr Haniya as prime minister. Mr Haniya said the result "confirms [Hamas] is serious in imposing security and stability and maintaining law and order in this very dear part of our homeland".

If Hamas can control the violence will they get support?