Calgary mom says daughters are happy to be home

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At a news conference today Hawach pauses as she speaks about her experiences trying to recover her daughters Hannah and Cedar from Lebanon.

In her first public appearance since she secretly returned to Canada last month, Melissa Hawach told The Canadian Press she rescued her two daughters from a playground in Lebanon and they're glad to be home.

Estranged husband Joseph Hawach was supposed to be on a three-week vacation to Sydney, Australia with the girls last July but disappeared instead.

Joseph Hawach is a dual Australian-Lebanese citizen. He allegedly took his daughters, aged five and three at the time to Lebanon while the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel raged around them.

Hawach first pursued legal means of getting her daughters back. But when that failed, she allegedly hired mercenaries from Australia and New Zealand to find her daughters in Beirut.

Two men accused of helping her carry out the plan were arrested and remain in a Lebanese prison, CP reports.

Melissa Hawach had been in hiding since returning to Canada on Feb. 17. Her story has garnered international headlines. So much so that apparently 20th Century Fox along with actress Angelina Jolie are interested in buying the rights to her story.