Irish-Israeli girl, 9, freed from Gaza as Irish PM slammed for saying she was 'lost' and 'found'

Emily Hand, a 9-year-old Irish-Israeli girl whose father had initially called her reported death by Hamas the "best possibility," is now free from Gaza, and the Irish prime minister is under fire for calling her a "lost" child who "has now been found and returned."

Emily, who turned 9 in Gaza after being kidnapped on Oct. 7, was reunited with her family on Saturday as she was among the group of 13 hostages who were released as part of a prisoner exchange. Hamas also released four Thai nationals on Saturday.

After terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping approximately 240 others, Thomas Hand, Emily's father, was initially mistakenly informed she was killed in Kibbutz Be'eri, where she was sleeping over at a friend's house.

In an emotional interview in the days after Oct. 7, Thomas Hand, who was born in Ireland and is not Jewish, recalled how he responded to news of her death.

"I went, 'Yes!' and smiled because that was the best news of the possibilities that I knew," he told CNN at the time. "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."

Emily's older half-sister, Natalie Hand, told Israeli outlet YNet last week, as translated: "My father said what he said because that's what happens to a person when he receives terrible news. You automatically try to comfort yourself with something. It's a survival mechanism that allows you to keep breathing."

Emily's mother passed away from cancer when she was two and a half, and Thomas Hand's ex-wife, Narkis Hand, helped raise her like her own daughter, but she was killed when terrorists invaded on Oct. 7. 

Meanwhile, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is under fire for his response to Emily's return. 

"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," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

"She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization. What is with you and your government and your paid for media affiliates constantly down playing / attempting to repress horrific acts that happen to children," Irish professional mixed martial artist Conor McGregor wrote on X, referring to the recent mass stabbing in Dublin that wounded three children and resulted in a larger outburst of violence.

"As a Jew of Irish descent, I am so horrified and disgusted," conservative commentator Bethany Mandel wrote on X. "Lost and found like she went for a f***ing hike in the woods."

Judea Pearl, whose son, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was executed by Pakistani terrorists in 2002 for being Jewish, wrote: "The guy is still reading Little Red Riding Hood!"

Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, responded: "Emily Hand wasn't 'lost.' She was brutally abducted by the death squads that massacred her neighbors. She wasn't 'found.' Hamas knew where she was all along and cynically held her as a hostage. And Hamas didn't answer your prayers. It answered Israel's military pressure."

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.