On 26th November (local time), Indian-origin Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar downplayed the kidnapping of Israeli civilians in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In his post, he referred to the 8-year-old kidnapped Irish-Israeli child named Emily Hand as “lost” and not abducted by Hamas.
He wrote, “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”
This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 25, 2023
Notably, Sky News quoted Varadkar saying, “A little girl was snatched from her home and held captive for almost seven weeks. She spent her ninth birthday as a hostage. We hope she will soon heal and recover from the traumatic experience in the loving embrace of her family.” Here too, Varadkar avoided naming Hamas.
Emily was abducted by Hamas terrorists from Israel during the terrorist attack on 7th October. She was taken to Gaza and was released as part of the first exchange between Hamas and Israel where Hamas has released 50 hostages and Israel has released 150 Palestinian criminals and terrorists from the prison.
The abduction of Israeli child Emily Hand
Emily Hand, who lives in Kibbutz Be’eri, turned 9 on 24th November in captivity. She was among 13 Israelis freed on Saturday (), and one of the first 50 to be freed by Hamas. Following her release, she was reunited with her father Thomas.
In a statement, her family said, “Emily has come back to us. We can’t find the words to describe our emotions after 50 challenging and complicated days. We are overjoyed to embrace Emily again, but at the same time, we remember all the hostages who have yet to return. We will persist in doing everything in our power to bring them back home.”
Reports suggest that when Hamas attacked Israel on 7th October, Emily was sleeping at her best friend’s house. Following the attack, she lost contact with her family.
Initially, it was believed that her body was found by the family. however, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) later informed the family that they found evidence she was among the hostages held in Gaza.
Emily’s father hails from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. Her family members in the Irish capital celebrated her birthday as part of a campaign for her release.
Israel-Hamas War
On 7th October, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel resulting in the death of at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals. Israel launched a counter-attack on Hamas aiming to finish the Palestinian terrorist organisation.
After air strikes for over a month, Israel launched a ground attack in the Gaza Strip to weed out Hamas terrorists. Notably, Hamas created safe establishments under residential areas and hospitals to shield itself from Israeli attacks that IDF has to clear to ensure the terrorist organisation is wiped off from the face of the earth.
Currently, there is a ceasefire going on. As per the agreement, Hamas released 10-13 hostages every day totalling 50 Israeli hostages abducted during the 7th October attack. OpIndia’s detailed reports on the Israel-Hamas war can be checked here.
