Johnston, who was abducted from his house in Gaza City on March 12 by Palestinian terrorists, was handed over to Hamas officials at around 3am BST. He is understood to be "tired" but "in good health".
His release brings to an end nearly four months in captivity, where he was threatened with being executed if the government or military tried to take him with force. According to Johnston, he had access to BBC World Service after two weeks in captivity, and was aware of the diplomatic efforts for his release, which he said gave him "a psychological boost".
Johnston, who has since spoken to his parents who launched a global media campaign and petition that attracted more than 200,000 signatures, is currently in the care of Hamas officials and it is understood he will return to the UK shortly. Hamas seized control of Gaza, routing their Fatah rivals two weeks ago. The Islamic group immediately called on the Army of Islam, a crime group dominated by Gaza's powerful Dugmush clan, for the release of the BBC reporter.
In a BBC interview, Johnston said: "It was an appalling experience as you can imagine, 16 weeks kidnapped, sometimes occasionally quite terrifying and frightening... I didn't know where it was going to end. It became almost hard to imagine normal life again and I literally dreamed many times of being free and I always woke up back in that room."
He went on to thank the Palestinian and British governments, the BBC, and everyone who campaigned to secure his release. He said: "It was an extraordinary level of stress and psychological pressure for a long, long time and obviously difficult to keep your mind in the right place. It's a constant battle but I feel I probably got through it as well as I could."
In the weeks prior to his release, Johnston appeared in a video message wearing what appeared to be a belt containing explosives. It was not the first time that Johnston's life appeared to be in imminent danger -- on April 15 a militant Palestinian group, which claimed to be linked to al-Qaeda, said it had executed Johnston, and the reports were urgently investigated before turning out to be false.
Johnston, who began his career at Cardiff School of Journalism, joined the BBC in 1991 and eventually became a correspondent covering Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip, where he was when he was taken hostage nearly four months ago.
Johnston's parents, Graham and Margaret Johnston, said: "The last 114 days have been a dreadful time for us -- but particularly for Alan. Through it all we never lost hope. Alan had always told us of the friends he'd made in Gaza. We knew in the end, they would be there for him."
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