Lebanon laid out a red carpet Wednesday for the return by Israel of Samir Kuntar, the Lebanese terrorist jailed in 1979 for the deaths of four Israelis, and for the four Hezbollah fighters captured during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

The handover is part of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah, which will also secure the return of Israel Defense Forces reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, whose abuction by Hezbollah in July 2006 sparked the month-long war.

Coffins said to contain the bodies of Regev and Goldwasser were delivered to the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday morning by Hezbollah. Israel will confirm that the coffins do hold the bodies of the two before handing over the five Lebanese.

 
The Lebanese government has declared Wednesday a national holiday to celebrate the "liberation of prisoners from the jails of the Israeli enemy and the return of the remains of martyrs."

The prisoners were to be welcomed at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, President Michel Suleiman, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip people celebrated in the streets and handed out sweets in support of Hezbollah.

"Today is a great victory for the resistance movements and to Hezbollah, said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. "It shows that the only successful way to free the prisoners is by kidnapping soldiers."

A former cellmate of Samir Kuntar, Jaber Weshah said: "Today is a true day of joy for all Palestinians and all freedom lovers across the world."

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called Kantar an "Arab nationalist hero" and said his release was a great day for the Arab nation. He warned Israel it would have to pay the price for a soldier Hamas has been holding since June 2006 and presumed alive.

"As there was an honorable exchange today, we are determined to have an honorable exchange for our own prisoners, held in Israeli jails," Haniyeh said. "There is a captive Israeli soldier, and thousands of our sons are in prison. ... Let them answer our demands."

Mark Regev, government spokesman, condemned the celebrations. "Samir Kantar is a brutal murderer of children and anybody celebrating him as a hero is trampling on basic human decency," he said.