Irish-Israeli girl, 8, whose dad said death by Hamas was 'best possibility,' now believed alive

Emily Hand, an 8-year-old Irish-Israeli girl is believed to be alive, her family said, after her father's heartbreaking interview went viral when he said it was a "blessing" when he heard she died because being hostage in Gaza is "worse than death."

Emily's older sister, Natalie Hand, told Israel Channel 12 that her family was "in mourning" after being told she had been killed during Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage in Israel, but last week, officials informed them "it was highly likely that she had been abducted," The Times of Israel reported Sunday.

Emily was sleeping over at a friend's house in Kibbutz Be'eri when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, including at least 31 U.S. citizens.

Emily's friend and her friend's mother were also apparently kidnapped, Natalie Hand said, after being initially informed that the mother and daughter had also been murdered. 

She also said that Emily is an Irish citizen and while Irish authorities promised to help, they have made it clear that they are limited in what they can do.

Emily's father is Irish native Thomas Hand, who is not Jewish but moved to Israel more than 30 years ago when he volunteered to work on a kibbutz. Her Israeli-born mother passed away from breast cancer five years ago.

Reports of Emily's death had been "an identity mistake," Thomas Hand said, according to The Irish Times. 

Her father had told CNN on Oct. 12 in an emotional interview that he was grateful for the news of her death.

"They just said, 'We found Emily, she’s dead,'" Hand recalled in the interview as he cried. "I went, 'Yes!' and smiled, because that was the best news of the possibilities that I knew. That was the best possibility that I was hoping for."

"She was either dead or in Gaza. And if you knew anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death. That is worse than death. The way they treat you. They have no food. They have no water. She'd be in a dark room, filled with Christ knows how many people, and terrified every minute, hour, day and possible years to come. So death was a blessing. An absolute blessing," he said.

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