Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has met with the father and half-sister of 8-year-old Emily Hand, the Irish-Israeli girl who was initially believed to have been killed during the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel but is now believed to have been taken hostage.
"I assured the Hand family that the Government will do all in its power to secure the release of Emily and to assist the Hand family, and I emphasised Ireland's call on Hamas to release all hostages immediately without any preconditions,” Varadkar said, according to the PA, after meeting with Emily’s father, Dublin native Thomas Hand, and half-sister Natali on Monday in Dublin.
"I committed to continue calling for all hostages held by Hamas to be released immediately, and I also committed to continue raising the issue of hostages with international agencies and Governments, and through any other avenues which might help.
"I also used the opportunity of the meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to raise the issue of Irish-Palestinian dual citizens in Gaza who have asked to leave the territory."
Before meeting with Emily Hand's relatives, Varadkar said on Monday: "Emily Hand, who will be nine years old this week, is an Irish citizen, an Irish passport holder.
"We will do all that we can to find out information about her whereabouts.
"Hopefully she is alive and well. I believe she is, in my heart, and I know her father does too."
Indeed, Thomas Hand told RTÉ on Monday: "In my heart, I believe she is alive and well.
"You have to, to carry on."
Thomas and his daughter Natali, Emily's half-sister, spoke at a press conference facilitated by the Israeli embassy and Israeli NGO Israel-is in Dublin's Herbert Park Hotel on Monday.
They spoke alongside other Israeli people whose relatives are also believed to have been taken hostage.
“[I’m here] just to try and drum up as much support and sympathy from the Irish Government,” Hand said, according to the Irish Times.
Hand, who made headlines in October for saying it was a "blessing" that his daughter had died rather than be kidnapped, was emotional when discussing his daughter's ninth birthday, which is on Friday.
Hand said he was not afraid for his daughter's safety in the face of Israeli bombardment of the enclave.
“I’m sure that Emily was taken by the Hamas, not the Palestinian people, by the Hamas," he said.
"And they’ll be safe down in the tunnels, with the Hamas. They’ll be safe down there.
“I feel sorry for the Palestinian people, they’re suffering for what the Hamas is doing to them.
“They say that we’re the occupiers – we’re not the occupiers, Hamas are the occupiers."
RTÉ reports that Hand indicated he is "very happy" with the Irish Government's efforts to free hostages, and said it has been doing "a lot," adding that the Irish ambassador to Israel, Sonya McGuinness, had visited them to give them the "little information" she had.
The Irish Times reports that Natali, who was in Australia at the time of the October 7 attacks, told the press conference that she last spoke with Emily that night on a video call.
“She told me she [didn’t] want to die. Her friend’s house is getting burned, and she was asking me why I didn’t take her to Australia.”
Natali, whose mother was killed in the attacks, added: “We don’t sleep, we don’t eat, our bellies hurt from crying. We have no tears left."
Elsewhere on Monday, the official X (formerly Twitter) account for Israel shared clips of Emily Hand who they say is "being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza."
This beautiful 8 year old girl Emily Hand was believed to have been murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
We now know she is being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Please share this and help us bring Emily home ? pic.twitter.com/Mijz79qgdG
— Israel ישראל ?? (@Israel) November 13, 2023
An estimated 239 people have been taken hostage by Hamas, but White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC on Sunday: "We do not know the precise number of hostages.
"We know the number of missing, and that’s the number the Israelis have given. But we don’t know how many of those are still alive."
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he will meet with the Hand family on Tuesday before traveling to Egypt, Israel, and Palestine later this week. President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins is also expected to meet with the Hand family on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Social Democrats will bring a motion before the Dáil on Wednesday, November 15, calling on the government to withdraw diplomatic status from the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland and push for the imposition of EU-wide economic sanctions on Israel.
Sinn Féin will also bring a motion to the Dáil this week, calling upon the Irish government to refer the Israeli attacks in Gaza to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
The Taoiseach has said that the Irish government does not intend to expel the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.
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