Father was relieved about death
Nine-year-old believed dead is back with family
November 26, 2023, 4:10 a.m
After the Hamas bloodbath on Kibbutz Be’eri, Emily Hand is initially presumed dead – her father is tragically relieved. It later becomes clear that the nine-year-old is in the Gaza Strip after all. After weeks of uncertainty, the family is now reunited.
Emily Hand was released by Hamas after 50 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip. The nine-year-old girl was initially presumed dead. Shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel, her Irish-born father Thomas Hand tearfully expressed his relief that his daughter had not fallen into the hands of Hamas in an emotional television interview. “It was even “worse than death”. Three weeks later they said it was possibly as a hostage in the Gaza Strip been kidnapped.
“Emily has come back to us!” her family wrote in a statement from the headquarters of the Forum of Hostages and Missing Persons late Saturday evening. “We cannot find words to describe our feelings after 50 difficult and complicated days. We are overjoyed to be able to hug Emily again.”
Emily Hand had been abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri, where she had been staying with a friend. turned nine years old during her captivity, which was celebrated with a party in Dublin a week and a half ago. Last week, Thomas Hand made an emotional appeal calling for his daughter’s release, saying the family was experiencing a nightmare.
See you again in the hospital
On Saturday evening, the Red Cross brought a total of 13 Israelis – including four German-Israelis – and four Thai citizens across the border into Egypt. After crossing the border, the hostages were flown to a hospital in Israel. At the hospital, Emily was reunited with her father and two half-siblings, according to a report in the Irish Times. In one photo, the two can be seen sitting next to each other, visibly happy, Emily is holding a cuddly bear in her arms. According to media reports, the mother of the Irish-Israeli child died several years ago.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar wrote on X: “This is a day of great joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a sigh of relief.”
Emily Hand’s family wrote in the statement that their thoughts were with all the hostages who had not yet returned. “We will continue to do everything in our power to bring her home.” 24 hostages had already been released on Friday, including four German-Israelis. In its terrorist attack on October 7th, Hamas abducted a total of around 240 people into the Gaza Strip. Emily had been kidnapped from her home on a kibbutz.