A train carrying Israeli and Thai hostages crosses Egyptian territory and arrives in Israel
Emily Hand, 9 years old, is among the group of 17 hostages released this Saturday (25) by Hamas as part of the temporary ceasefire agreement to return to Israel. The girl was listed as one of the victims of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
Emily is the daughter of Irishman Thomas Hand, who moved to Israel more than three decades ago, and Israeli mother Liat, who died of cancer a few years ago. On the night of the terrorist attack, she was sleeping in a friend’s house on Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 people were murdered.
1 of 1 Emily Hand, 9 years old hostage released by the terrorist group Hamas Photo: Portal Emily Hand, 9 years old hostage released by the terrorist group Hamas Photo: Portal
Israeli authorities counted Emily, her friend and the girl’s mother among those killed by Hamas now it is assumed that they could be among the terrorist group’s hostages.
On October 12, Thomas told CNN that he received news that his daughter was dead. “They told me, ‘We found Emily and she’s dead,'” he said.
Almost 20 days later, the family received new information from Israeli authorities. “We were grieving,” family member Natalie Hand said in an interview with Channel 12. “Then on October 31 we were informed that it was very likely that she had been kidnapped.”
Emily was celebrating her 9th birthday at the time she was kidnapped by Hamas.
Since then, the family and the Irish embassy in Israel have tried to make Emily’s name a priority in hostage exchange negotiations. However, Thomas Hand told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that she was not on the list of hostages awaiting release on Friday.