EMILY Hand has been finally reunited with her big sister and two dogs in a heartwarming moment after she was held hostage for 50 days.
The Irish-Israeli, who was snatched from bed by Hamas on a sleepover on October 7, and was seen embraced by half-sister Natali and surrounded by her pups who couldn’t contain their excitement.
Emily is hugged by half-sister Natali and surrounded by her two dogs as they reunite
The emotional moment was recorded on video as Emily was finally released by Hamas
APEmily turned nine years of age inside the terror tunnels of Gaza[/caption]
The emotional reunion comes after the nine-year-old’s dad Tom vowed to throw his daughter the “biggest birthday party ever“.
The 63-year-old initially said he hoped his daughter had died in the October 7 massacre rather than being tortured by Hamas terrorists.
But once he learned Emily was alive, the distraught father campaigned endlessly for her release.
On Saturday, the young girl joined 20 other hostages who were set free by Hamas during a four-day truce in the war with Israel.
Her release came after a tense delay of several hours when Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet the terms of the agreement.
Emily was reunited with her dad in an Israeli hospital on Saturday following her release.
Emily, in a pink jumper and leggings, ran into her dad’s outstretched arms and emotions ran high moments later as Tom held her close in a tender moment captured on video.
Dublin-born Tom, who lives on kibbutz Be’eri, embraced Emily tightly on a sofa as she clutched a teddy.
Emily was freed alongside fellow child captive Hila Rotem, 12, but their captors did not free Hila’s 54-year-old mother Raya.
Tom since then spoke for the first time of the terrible toll taken on his daughter Emily during her 50-day Hamas hostage ordeal.
He revealed the youngster had “lost a lot of weight”.
And he spoke of his hope she would recover physically and mentally after being released among 13 innocents from the besieged strip.
Tom said: “We got Emily back from the hands of the Gazan terrorists.
“She has lost a lot of weight from her face and body but is generally doing better than we expected.
“We’re still fighting . . . as they promised they would not release children without mothers but they did not [keep the promise].
“We’re in the hospital taking care of Emily and we’d like to thank everyone who helped and supported us throughout the 50 days.
“You’ve been great. We can’t do it without you.”
Speaking to the Mirror about his daughter’s release he said: “We have been waiting far too long for this moment. Every day has been long and painful living nightmare.
“My Emily is coming home at last, broken but in one piece.”
He added that the youngster would be given a huge hug and that they would throw “the best birthday party she never had” after she turned nine will be held by Hamas.
However, there was fury in Israel over the weekend after a tweet by Irish premier Leo Varadkar referring to Emily as having been “lost”.
The Taoiseach welcomed her release as a “day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family”.
He said: “An innocent child who was lost has now been found.”
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen accused Mr Varadkar of needing a “reality check”. He said Emily was not lost but kidnapped.
ReutersShe was returned after being snatched from bed by Hamas terrorists on a sleepover during their October 7 attack on Israel[/caption]
AFPTom Hand has spoken about the ordeal his daughter Emily faced as a hostage of Hamas[/caption]
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