In an emotional reunion, nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was abducted to Gaza from Kibbutz Be’eri, was reunited with her father Tom Hand in the early hours of Sunday morning.
On October 7th, Emily was at a sleepover at the home of her friend Hila Rotem, 12, and was abducted together with her and Hila’s mother Raya, 54. The two friends were released from captivity together but sadly, Hila’s mother was left behind. Although it was initially reported that Hamas refused to release the mother, in a violation of the agreement not to separate mothers and children, later reports said that Hamas informed Israel that they could not locate Raya.
The video below shows Emily reunited with her father, Tom Hand, who was initally informed that Emily was murdered. His response to the news, as he related on a CNN interview, moved hundreds of thousands of people. Emily’s friend Hila is also seen in the video reuniting with her uncle.
Emily’s mother died of cancer when she was two-and-a-half. Tragically the stepmother who raised her was murdered on October 7th.
In an absolutely outrageous post on Motzei Shabbos, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described Emily’s return from being held captive by a savage terror group who murdered her stepmother, friends, and neighbors as “an innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned.”
Tom Hand is an Irish citizen.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Although it was initially reported that Hamas refused to release the mother, in a violation of the agreement not to separate mothers and children, later reports said that Hamas informed Israel that they could not locate Raya.
But Hila herself said that she was together with her mother until two days ago when they were separated….
see:
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2242544/hamas-cruelty-freed-captive-13-they-separated-me-from-my-mother-3-days-ago.html