An Irish father waited two days before learning that his eight-year-old daughter was killed in an attack by Hamas.
Thomas Hand is originally from Ireland, but now lives in Be'eri Kibbutz, Israel located near the Gaza Strip.
On Saturday, 7 October, at around 7AM, Hamas militants attacked the area killing more than 120 people.
Read more: Irish woman Kim Damti has died after Israel festival attack, her family confirm
The father explained that normally his daughter, named Emily, didn't have many sleepovers, but on that night, she was staying with a neighbour.
“She doesn't do it very often, but unfortunately that night, that particular night, Friday night, she went to sleep at her friend's house,” he told CNN.
Thomas recalled the attack, sharing that for 12 hours he was “pinned down” under heavy fire unable to reach his daughter as Hamas “went door-to-door executing his neighbours”, CNN stated.
He described what it was like during the siege: “Waiting. I’m thinking the Army are going to be here soon. Just hold on a bit longer, and longer, and longer.'
Thomas was forced to wait two days before being informed that his daughter had been killed.
“They said, 'We found Emily. She's dead,' and I went 'Yes!' I went 'yes', and I smiled, because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew,” he said,
“That was the best possibility that I was hoping for. 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. That it worse than death, the way they treat you.
“They'd have no food. They'd 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.”
Get the latest RSVP headlines straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletter
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this LINK to receive your daily dose of RSVP Live content. We also treat our community members to wonderful competitions, promotions, along with great stories. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice
