The family of eight-year-old Emily Hand learned Hamas kidnapped her at a sleepover in Kibbutz Be’eri, and she did not die in the attack on October 7th.
From The Times of Israel:
Natalie Hand [Emily’s older sister] said in a Channel 12 interview that the family had cried for Emily when they were informed she had been killed. “We were told that she had been murdered. We were in mourning,” she said. Then, “on October 31, they told us that it was highly likely that she had been abducted.”Emily was at a sleepover at a friend’s house on the kibbutz on the night of October 6-7, Natalie said, and her friend and her friend’s mother were also apparently abducted. Their family was also initially told they had been killed, Natalie said.She noted that Emily also has Irish citizenship. She said the Irish authorities have promised to do what they can to help, though they have made clear that their capacity to do so is limited, she said.
Thomas, Hand’s father, said three weeks ago, he had a “sense of relief” that Emily died instead of being taken hostage.
Thomas said: “I smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew… She was either dead or in Gaza and if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death. That is worse than death. The way they treat you. They have no food, they would have no water.”
I cannot imagine what the hostages are going through, especially after 30 days.
Also, somehow, the Hamas Health Ministry can count and identify thousands of “dead” people after an explosion.
Natalie echoed her father’s sentiments about what could happen to Emily being held hostage in Gaza: “We have no tears left. We are just broken. It is a constant nightmare. We just want to get her back. I am grieving about my mum and her. We have got hope back. We are strong. We will do anything. The thought of her being kidnapped and suffering, it’s a constant nightmare.”
This video is from three weeks ago:
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