BBC journalist Alan Johnston, freed Wednesday by Palestinian kidnappers in Gaza City, was reunited with his family at Lochgoil in the Scottish county of Argyll on Saturday evening, the BBC reported.

Johnston, 45, had flown to London from Tel Aviv, arriving at Heathrow airport and then continued his journey to Scotland.

Johnston was visibly moved when he was welcomed by his family at Lochgoilhead. His voice seemed to be shaking and he was struggling with tears when he spoke in front of television cameras at his parents' home.

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"It is hard to believe that only four days ago I was in that cell (in Gaza)," Johnston said.

He thanked his family but also the public as well as his friends and colleagues for their support.

"I'm going to be grateful for that support all my life," Johnston said.

He now intended to spend some quiet time with his family and have a couple of months rest before returning to work, the journalist told television crews.

However, neither he nor his employers at the BBC had yet made up their minds on what he would be doing, Johnston said.

He had said earlier he would not be returning to Gaza in the near
future.

Johnston was held by Army of Islam militants in Gaza for nearly four months. He was released Wednesday into the hands of the Islamic militant movement Hamas.

The United States said after his release that Hamas' role in freeing Johnston has not changed the world's opinion of the Islamic militant group.