This is not the first prisoner swap that Israel has done. In the past Israel has done this sort of swap many times, even exchanging the live prisoners that it holds for the bodies of its dead soldiers. However, this time was more traumatic for Israel, since it involved sending back a man whom Israel hates with a vengeance, Samir Qantar. Samir Qantar holds a special place in Israel, since he was convicted in 1979 for the killing of an entire family (Wikipedia), while leading a raid. His killing of the young daughter of the family was seen as particularly brutal, and he has been in jail ever since:

Hezbollah handed the bodies of two Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross on Wednesday to be exchanged for Lebanese prisoners held by Israel in a deal viewed as a triumph by the Lebanese Shi’ite guerrilla group. Many Israelis see it as a painful necessity, two years after the soldiers’ capture sparked a 34-day war with Hezbollah that killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon and 159 Israelis.

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