Thomas Hand whose daughter Emily was held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 50 days, spoke on Monday night in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, with Emily by his side, and was informed that Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky, also taken hostage in the October 7 massacre were dead.
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Hand had been recounting the horrors of Emily's captivity in the interview, as his daughter leaned her head on him listening quietly. When Morgan informed the two of the names of the now-believed-dead hostages, she sat up and began wiping away her father's tears.
"Itay was with Emily for the whole duration of her captivity. There was nothing wrong with him. So, they've killed him and of course blaming the IDF, of course, why wouldn't you?" he said.
Hand had believed his daughter was murdered at the start of the war and had at the time told CNN that he preferred her being dead to being held captive by Hamas, fearing what she may endure in their hands. He said realizing she was held hostage in Gaza, he began running scenarios in his head and fell into a dark hole of despair.
Emily who had lost her mother at a young age was raised by Hand's second wife Narkis, who was also murdered in the massacre. Was doing well, Hand told Morgan. "Kids are just amazingly resilient," he said adding she is speaking almost at a normal volume, after whispering when she returned, is heating like a horse and sleeping well with not too many nightmares. "Sometimes I just watch her in the night, and I see her crunching up her face and I wake her up to break the nightmare."
Thomas hand reunited with daughter Emily after being held for by Hamas
(Photo: IDF)
He said that when Emily first learned that Narkis had been murdered, she had a sharp intake of breath but did not say a word. "Only on the next night, she sobbed herself to sleep, but under the blankets on the bed. She wouldn't let me touch her," he said. "she'd forgotten how to be comforted by a parent," he said. "I just had to let her cry it out."