Palestinian gunmen have freed a Spanish photographer who was in kidnapped a Gaza yesteday.
Associated Press photographer Emilio Morenatti (37), was grabbed by four gunmen as he headed out of his apartment yesterday morning. He was put in another vehicle and driven away, the AP said.
He was held captive for more than 12 hours before pressure from Palestinian officials secured his release.
Spanish photographer Emilio Morenatti after he was released in Gaza
Nobody claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Mr Morenatti's release came after the kidnapping was denounced by the Hamas-led government and President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah movement.
Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he had contacted Mr Abbas and other Palestinian officials over the kidnapping.
Senior security officials brought Mr Morenatti to Mr Abbas's office in Gaza after his release, witnesses said.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said "the identity of the kidnappers is known and they will be prosecuted", according to an official in his office.
Mr Morenatti, from Jerez, has been working for the news agency in Jerusalem since 2005, the AP said.
Earlier, Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said the abduction did not serve the Palestinian cause. "We stress that these actions are against our culture and against our religion," he said.
Previous kidnappings of foreigners have usually ended after a few hours, or at most a few days, of captivity.
Earlier this month, unknown gunmen kidnapped a US student volunteer in the West Bank and released him hours later.
Two journalists working for the US Fox News channel were abducted in the Gaza Strip in August. They were held by militants for two weeks before being freed.