Government 'doing everything it can' to support family of Emily Hand believed to be held hostage in Gaza

Her father, Thomas Hand who is from Dublin, told CNN after the October 7 attack that he was glad the eight-year-old was dead because he believed it was better for his daughter than being held hostage.

However, an interview with Emily’s older sister Natalie has been aired on Israel’s Channel 12, in which she says that the family was informed on October 31 that the young girl had been abducted.

"This is a hugely traumatic situation for her family and for every family who finds themselves with their loved one held hostage," Helen McEntee told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Monday. 

"We are doing everything that we can to support this family and others to make sure that people can be returned home safely to their families. 

"We have called from the very beginning for Hamas to release any hostages that they might have and of course where Irish citizens may be involved here, every effort is being made to support them," Ms McEntee added. 

Emily, from Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel, was visiting her friend on the kibbutz on October 7 when the Hamas attack occurred.

In an interview on CNN in the days after the attack, her devastated father told of how his daughter had been staying overnight with her friend near Gaza when she disappeared. Her friend and her friend’s mother also disappeared.

Two days after the attack, Thomas was informed that his daughter’s body had been found. More than 100 people were killed on the kibbutz in the attack.

He told CNN after being told that Emily was dead: “They just said, we’ve found Emily, she’s dead. And I went ‘yes’ ... and smiled cause 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 ... so death was a blessing, an absolute blessing.” 

However, the family has now been told that Emily is a hostage in Gaza.

The Times of Israel reported that Natalie addressed Emily directly in the Channel 12 broadcast, saying: “I want to tell you that we are doing everything to get you home. We know you are being held hostage. We love you so much and miss you.” 

She added: “We were told that she had been murdered. We were in mourning. On October 31, they told us that it was highly likely that she had been abducted.” 

The Department of Foreign Affairs said last night: “The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case of Emily Hand and is providing consular assistance to her family. We will not be commenting further at this time.”