Girl, 9, so traumatised by being held hostage she won’t speak above a whisper

'I can't bear to think about what she's been through - she's been terrorised by terrorists in hell - but as her dad, it's my job to make it better, and I will.'

Nov 29, 2023 - 13:00
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Girl, 9, so traumatised by being held hostage she won’t speak above a whisper

A young Irish-Israeli girl who was taken hostage by Hamas lost more than half a stone during captivity and won’t speak above a whisper, her dad said.

Emily Hand, 9, was kidnapped at a sleepover in Kibbutz Be-eri during the Hamas incursion of Israel on October 7, and she turned nine during her 50-day ordeal.

Her friend Hila, 13, was abducted at the same time but has also now been released.

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Emily’s father Tom Hand, 63, has now said he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to restore his daughter’s sense of safety and wellbeing after she was released at the weekend.

Initially it was thought Emily had been killed by Hamas, and Mr Hand previously said he was glad she had died rather than going through the horror of being kidnapped.

TOPSHOT - This image grab from a handout video released by the Israeli army, shows 9-year-old Irish Israeli former hostage Emily Hand embracing her father at a hospital in Israel after being released by Hamas, amid an exchange operation of hostages against prisoners between Hamas and Israel, on November 26, 2023. Hamas on November 25, released a second group of Israeli and foreign civilians it had been holding hostage in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, after an hours-long unexpected delay set nerves on edge. Israeli authorities said 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens had returned to Israel. (Photo by Israel Army / AFP) / NO ARCHIVES -- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT
Emily Hand was reunited with her dad at the weekend (Picture: Israel Army/AFP via Getty Images)
Emily Hand, 9, who was released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, appears in this undated handout image, obtained by Reuters on November 25, 2023. Hostages and Missing Families Forum/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Emily was abducted on October 7 when Hamas fighters crossed the border

She is currently being evaluated by child trauma specialists in a hospital near Tel Aviv, and has been put on a course of vitamins to boost her nervous system.

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Mr Hand also revealed what his daughter went through, as she was not kept in tunnels under Gaza as expected but instead Hamas made her run from the Israeli army from house to house.

She was ordered to remain silent throughout her horrific ordeal, and since her release she has only been able to speak in whispers.

He explained: ‘She was constantly being moved – sometimes under fire – to stay one step ahead of the army.

‘She must have been absolutely terrified – an eight-year-old girl being led by strangers from one blown-up shell of a house to the next in the middle of a war zone.’

Emily Hand (second from right) reunites with her father, Tom Hand (right) while Hila Rotem (second from left), whose mother is still held hostage, reunites with family member
Emily Hand (second from right) reunited with her father, Tom Hand (right) while friend Hila Rotem (second from left), whose mother is still held hostage, reunited with her family (Picture: Twitter)
Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel, are handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, in this screengrab taken from video released November 26, 2023. Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
Hostages abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel were handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross during the temporary ceasefire (Picture: via Reuters)

Mr Hand said his daughter had recounted Hamas gunmen were shouting ‘yala, yala, yala’ in Arabic, which means ‘hurry, hurry, hurry’, at the hostages as they ran for their lives as Israel rained shells and gunfire down upon them.

‘I said when she was being held that I was horrified by the thought of her spending her ninth birthday in the tunnels under Gaza,’ he said.

‘But the reality of what was happening to her was actually much worse – and I’m glad I didn’t know what she was going through at the time.’

Mr Hand says he is determined to help his daughter heal, saying: ‘I can’t bear to think about what she’s been through – she’s been terrorised by terrorists in hell – but as her dad, it’s my job to make it better, and I will.

‘It’s going to be a long road, but we’ll get there.

‘I know now I’m going to become an overprotective dad and still can’t bear to let her out of my sight.

‘But the last thing I would ever want is for her to feel trapped or threatened in any way again.’

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