Tom Hand rejected the idea that his daughter Emily died quickly after his disappearance during an attack by armed men Hamas October 7 in the south of Israel, it’s sad to think that will spend his ninth birthday as a hostage in the Gaza tunnel.

Emily slept at a friend’s house Beeri, one of the kibbutz rings around Gaza Strip who were the target of a Hamas attack that began early in the morning and ended several hours later, killing 1,400 people and about 240 hostages., by Israel’s count on the deadliest day in its 75-year history.

“There have been unofficial reports that she was found dead on the kibbutz,” said Hand, who is now living in a Dead Sea hotel with other Be’eri evacuees. “I felt relieved. I was relieved that she was dead and that it was all over.It would be pretty quick.”

In more than 24 hours, more than 100 people died in Beeri. Many were shot along with their families or found dead with their hands tied. Rescuers reported that some of them were burned alive. He was at home, and the armed men never came to his house.

“You try to imagine the best. “You hope it was quick.”– said Hand. “It’s a crazy thought for a parent, but yeah, it was a relief to realize I wasn’t in Gaza.”

Hand, a 64-year-old Irish immigrant who came to Be’eri in 1992 as a volunteer at age 32, worked as a printer on a kibbutz where he met Liat, Emily’s mother.

Liat died when Emily was only two and a half years old, but the family remained on the kibbutz, where Narkis, Hand’s first wife, also lived. She was killed on October 7.

For several weeks, Hand believed that Emily had also died in the attack, until the army informed him that her body had not been found. Then he realized what it was kidnapped and that she was likely held in a network of tunnels built by Hamas.

“Now I know that She is in Gaza and alive. He will have to spend nine years in the tunnels,” he said. “He won’t even know when his birthday is. “He will have no idea of ​​the night, nor the day, nor the hour.”

“There will be no birthday party, no birthday cake, no friends around. But you know, yes. “Now we hope, now we pray,” he added.

Following the Oct. 7 attack, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, killing more than 11,000 people, according to Gaza authorities, and launched a ground operation to destroy Hamas. He The government and army promised to return as many hostages as possible.

Now that Hand knows Emily is alive, he said he was forced to completely change his thinking and think, “Okay, let’s get her back, let’s get her back. “We’re going to bring them all back.”

He explained that Emily was a fan of the American singer. Beyoncé and focused on staying strong enough to bring her home and thought about ways to please her.

You might be interested > A truce is needed: “Let’s be human”: Mexican nurse who fled the Gaza Strip | video

“I will definitely take her to the next Beyoncé concert. I’ll take her to Disney World“I will spend all my money, every penny, to please him and make up for everything he has lost and everything he has to go through,” he promised, holding back tears. “I will give him the world”

“We are all waiting for her,” he added. “We know we will get you back. Be strong every day and wait, we are coming for you. Let’s take you home. “Let’s take you home.”

Reuters