Amelie Hand

Emily Kornberg Hand, the 8-year-old daughter of Irish native Thomas Hand and Israeli-born Liat, who died several years ago of cancer, was thought to have been murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas terrorists on October 7. After 30 days of mourning, the family was informed that their daughter is thought to be alive and held hostage in Azza.

Emily was having a sleepover at a friend’s house when Hamas began its murderous rampage through the kibbutz, where more than 100 people were killed and an unknown number taken hostage.

Thomas’s heartbreaking interview to CNN, where he described being happy to know that Emily was found dead instead of held captive by Hamas, reverberated around the world.

“They just said, ‘We found Emily, she’s dead,’ and I went, ‘Yes’ and smiled, because that was the best news of the possibilities that I knew,” Thomas recounted tearfully. “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.”

In an interview with The Irish Times, Thomas — who moved to Israel more than 30 years ago — described his little girl.

“She was a little angel and she actually looked like an angel. She was very, very sociable and she loved music,” he said. “She would sing in the house all day long and she loved dancing. She would watch videos of Beyoncé; she was her favorite and would pick up the moves really quickly.”

Thomas said that Emily “was always chosen for the dance routines on the stage for the kibbutz for the holidays – always front and center, so if the other kids forgot the steps they could just look at Emily. She was exceptional.”
Source: The Times of Israel