Nine-year-old Emily Hand, initially thought dead, was among 17 Hamas hostages released Saturday evening after 50 days in captivity. “Emily came back to us!” her family wrote in a statement from the headquarters of the Forum of Hostages and Missing Persons.
“We cannot find words to describe our feelings after fifty difficult and complicated days. We are overjoyed to be able to hug Emily again,” the girl’s family said. Emily turned nine during her captivity, which was celebrated with a party in Dublin a week and a half ago.
The girl was presumed dead
After the Hamas massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, the girl was initially presumed dead. Her Irish-born father, Thomas Hand, tearfully expressed relief in an emotional TV interview that his daughter had not fallen into the hands of Hamas because that would have been “worse than death.”
It later became clear that the nine-year-old was not dead after all and had been taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. Last week, her father appealed to Hamas to release his daughter. After many weeks of uncertainty, the family has been reunited since Saturday evening (see video above).
Hostages handed over to the Red Cross
The armed wing of the radical Islamic Hamas handed over a second group of hostages to the Red Cross on Saturday evening, krone.at reports. The Israeli military said 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens were taken across the border into Egypt.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
