A father who for weeks believed his eight-year-old daughter was murdered by Hamas on October 7 has admitted he “regrets” initially saying he was “glad” she was dead.
Irish-Israeli Emily Hand is believed to be one of at least 130 people who died in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where she was staying with her friend.
Her Irish father, Thomas Hand, initially said he was relieved to hear his daughter had diedbecause he was more afraid of the way she would be treated by Hamas terrorists and the conditions she would face in detention.
Until he revealed this week that after a month of mourning, Israeli authorities told his family that the student was likely a Hamas hostage being held somewhere in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Mr Hand admitted he regretted his words and said he feared he had “put her in danger”.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hand said: “In some ways I regret this interview.” Just because of some of the things I said. There are things that could have put them in danger.”
But he continued to insist he needed to “move on” and expressed his family’s desperate desire to get their little girl back.
“Now there is hope,” he said. “We can only hope we get her back alive… We just want her back. We want to see her again, love her again, hug her and kiss her again. I will never let her out of my sight,” he added.
Irish-Israeli Emily Hand is believed to be among at least 130 people killed in the deadly massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri
Mr. Hand then spoke of his despair over Emily celebrating her ninth birthday alone.
He explained: “Her birthday is this month, the 17th, and she won’t even know it.” No cake, no party, no friends.
“She will still live in fear there every day,” he said.
Yesterday Mr. Speaking about his desperation to get his daughter back, Hand told Sky News: “We want to hug her again.” “We want to see her dance and sing again.”
Mr Hand, who is not Jewish and was born in Dún Laoghaire, near Dublin, described his daughter as an “innocent angel” whose passion was music.
Asked why it was initially a relief for the family to hear Emily had died, Mr Hand replied: “Because.” [was] not about what she’s going through right now.
“It would break any normal person, a month in jail under any circumstances…so yes, it was a relief at the time.”
“But now we are very, very happy,” he continued, “that there is a chance that she will still live and come out, no matter how broken she is physically or mentally.”
“We have to fix them. It will take years, but we want them back.”
He said if there was one thing he could tell Emily, it would be to “be strong”. “We know you are strong, come back,” he said.
He added that despite her young age, his daughter has “amazing inner strength and spirit”.
Through tears, he said if his daughter gets home safely, “I won’t let her out of my sight… I just want to hold her and never let her go.”
Revealing details of the painstaking investigation at the slaughter site, Mr Hand said he had been told there was no evidence his daughter had been killed there.
He said no blood was found around or near the house that matched the DNA of Emily or her friend: “We assume they were trafficked to Gaza.”
He added that two mobile phones belonging to Emily’s friend and her mother had been traced to Gaza, which he said was only an “indicator” as the phones could easily be stolen.
Emily’s half-sister, Nathalie, told Sky she received a video of the little girl hiding in a safe room the morning Hamas launched its bloody invasion of southern Israel.
Emily’s half-sister, Nathalie, told Sky she received a video of the little girl hiding in a safe room the morning Hamas launched its bloody invasion of southern Israel.
In a heartbreaking interview, Mr Hand expressed his family’s desperate desire to get their little girl back
Emily Hand, a young Irish-Israeli girl, is believed to have been among at least 130 people killed in the deadly massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri.
Pictured: Emily Hand, eight, spent Friday October 6 with a friend, her father Thomas said
“We’re in the safe room with our toys,” the little girl allegedly said on the broadcast before they lost contact.
Mr Hand said he now found it difficult to imagine where Emily could be, suggesting the terror group may be holding her in its network of tunnels.
He said the family began the grieving process when they were told Emily was probably not dead.
“I felt like the nightmare was over, and now I thought, OK, I’m back.” “Now we’re all in it again,” he said.
Helen McEntee, Ireland’s justice minister, said this week that the government was doing everything in its power to support Emily’s family.
Ms McEntee told RTE: “This is an extremely traumatic situation for her family and for any family who is held with their loved one hostage.”
“We are doing everything we can to support these and other families and ensure that people can be safely returned to their families.
“From the beginning, we called on Hamas to release any hostages. And where Irish citizens are involved, of course every effort has been made to support them.”
Israeli tanks cross the border from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel
Palestinians search for victims in the Magazi refugee camp after Israeli airstrikes
As the war continues, smoke rises from Gaza
Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel in their thousands from Gaza, killing civilians in the border area surrounding the area. Israel said about 1,400 people were killed, making it the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history.
Gunmen shot dead families in their own homes. Children and even babies were shot in cold blood and even found decapitated, officials said.
In response, Israel launched a brutal bombing and siege of Gaza, killing thousands and leaving millions with rapidly dwindling supplies.
The country has also launched a ground offensive and has now surrounded Gaza City, where around 1.1 million people lived before the war. Many have now fled south.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,770 people, including many women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes and the intensification of the ground campaign in the month since the attack.
last month, Mr. Hand told it Irish Times from his daughter: “She was an angel and she actually looked like an angel.” She was very sociable and loved music.
“She sang around the house all day and loved to dance. She watched Beyoncé videos; She was their favorite and learned the moves very quickly.
“She was always chosen to dance on the kibbutz stage during the holidays – always front and center, so that when the other children forgot the steps, the other children could just watch. She was extraordinary.”
So far, five hostages have been released, four of them after negotiations through diplomatic back channels and one after an Israeli army operation.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
