The family of kidnapped Irish-Israeli girl Emily Hand does not expect the nine-year-old to be among the 13 hostages expected to be released by Hamas on Friday.
Emily Hand, who turned nine last week, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7 and was initially believed to have been killed in the attack on the Be'eri Kibbutz.
However, Israeli authorities informed her family at the beginning of November that Emily's remains were not found among the dead at the kibbutz.
A recent deal agreed between Israel, Egypt, Hamas, and the US has secured the release of 50 hostages over a four-day period, during which a pause in the fighting will be held.
However, a spokesperson for the Hand family said on Thursday that Emily would not be among the first 13 hostages released during the first day of the humanitarian pause on Friday.
Emily's Irish father Tom wrote an op-ed in the UK Independent shortly after the deal had been announced, stating that the deal had given him a "glimmer of hope" but also a "new sickness in the depths of my stomach".
"What if Emily is not among those that her assailants choose to send home?" Tom Hand wrote in the Independent on Wednesday.
He added that he hopes Emily's young age will curry favor with her captors and secure her release in the coming days.
"Her age and her gender will hopefully give her priority when the exchanges begin, but we can’t be certain. Until I see Emily’s blue eyes looking into my own, I won’t allow myself to believe anything. We’ll be carrying on this fight until we know for sure."
He added that he is deeply concerned by Emily's current condition and the possible long-term effects of her kidnapping, stating that the family will be dealing with the damage of the kidnapping for the rest of their lives if they secure her release.
Tom described his daughter as the "most loving, caring daughter, sister and friend" and wrote that she probably didn't even realize that she had turned nine, writing that there was probably no way for her to "track the passage of time".
"She hasn’t had an easy life – her mother died of breast cancer when she was just a baby – but you wouldn’t think that to talk to her. She loves to sing, to dance, to perform. She can do cartwheels and the splits – I think she’s destined to be an acrobat when she grows up," Tom wrote.
"They say it’s the hope that really gets you, and that’s true. For now, all we can do is wait, and hope that one day soon we’ll be able to give Emily that birthday celebration that was denied to her."