"They just said, 'We found Emily. She's dead.' And I went, 'Yes!": Father of rescued Irish girl recalls hostage horror

Tel Aviv [Israel], November 29 : Thomas Hand, the father of the Irish-Israeli 9-year-old girl, Emily Hand, who was released by Hamas recently, described his daughter's experience in captivity, saying it was "terrifying" and is being revealed slowly.
He told CNN that Emily had to run from house to house and was even forced to move by Hamas as Israeli forces attacked Gaza.
"That's terrifying. Being pulled, dragged, pushed...under gunfire probably," he said on Tuesday.
Thomas said his daughter is opening up only slowly about her experience in Gaza, a place she now calls "the box."
"She's coming out slowly, little by little," Hand said.
"We'll only know what she really went through as she opens up," he told CNN, adding, "I want to know so much information...but you have to let them, when they are ready, come out with it."
Emily, who turned nine in Hamas captivity, was held with her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani and Hila's mother Raaya at a sleepover at their house when Hamas terrorists stormed Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7.
Thomas said he was earlier informed by kibbutz leaders that Emily had been killed and her body had been seen.
"They just said, 'We found Emily. She's dead.' And I went, 'Yes!' I went, 'Yes!' and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew ... So death was a blessing, an absolute blessing," the father recalled.
But nearly a month later, the Israeli army told him it was "highly probable" Emily was alive and was being held as a hostage of Hamas.
Hand said the military had been piecing together bits of information and intelligence. None of the remains at Kibbutz Be'eri were identified as those of Emily. There was no blood in the house where she slept. And cellphones belonging to Hila's family had been tracked to Gaza.
Eight weeks after he had last seen his daughter, Hand was informed Emily was on the list of the second batch of hostages to be released under the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, CNN reported.
Thomas tried to hold back his excitement as he reached the base where the freed hostages were being taken. There was a long delay and then word came in that she was with the Red Cross.
"All of a sudden the door opened up and she just ran. It was beautiful, just like I had imagined it, running together," Thomas recalled.
Speaking on the video of their reunion, which went viral on social media, Hand said, "I probably squeezed her too hard". In the video, he greets his daughter with her nickname "Emush."
He also said like the other hostages, Emily had lost body weight, adding that he had never seen her so pale.
"The most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was she was just whispering, you couldn't hear her. I had to put my ear on her lips," he said, adding, "She'd been conditioned not to make any noise."
Hand said she is slowly coming back and "tries to stretch out the days with her family but when she finally goes to bed she really sleeps".
"Last night she cried until her face was red and blotchy, she couldn't stop. She didn't want any comfort, I guess she's forgotten how to be comforted" Hand said.
He also spoke about how Emily has habituated to eating less food. "They always had breakfast, sometimes lunch, sometimes something in the evening," he said.
Emily was so hungry she learned to like eating plain bread with olive oil.
She said, "Nobody hit us".
The children could not make noise and were allowed to do little but draw and play with some cards, she recalled.
Hand said he is grateful that Emily was held with Hila and Raaya for the most part, as he drew solace from knowing Emily had someone to care for her.
Emily and Hila now look out for each other, Hand said, adding that they celebrated Hila's 13th birthday with a cake in the hospital on Monday and a cake was brought for Emily too, for the 9th birthday she missed in Gaza, CNN reported.
But, the focus of Hand is now split. He must get Emily well, but he will do all he can to get Raya back home and all the other hostages too, CNN reported, adding that he hopes the support he felt while Emily was missing will stay strong.
"We have to get Raaya back for Hila, back for Emily, back for justice," he said.
"Don't go silent on us now," he implored the world, adding, "Bring them home, bring them home", CNN reported.