The release of Emily Hand:
Seventeen hostages held by Hamas for seven weeks were released by the terror group on Saturday night, after an agonising delay raised fears that the truce deal with Israel would collapse.
Those released include Emily Hand, the nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl who was initially thought to have died in the Oct 7 attack on Kibbutz Be’eri in an apparent case of mistaken identity.
But after 50 days in captivity, Emily was reunited with her father, Thomas Hand, who had restlessly campaigned for her safe return after learning she was alive.
A timid-looking Emily was recorded running into the open arms of her father. Thomas held his daughter tightly, visibly overcome with emotion.
And a tone-deaf response from the Irish PM:
Emily Hand wasn't "lost". She was brutally abducted by the death squads that massacred her neighbors.
She wasn't "found". Hamas knew where she was all along and cynically held her as a hostage.
And Hamas didn't answer your prayers. It answered Israel's military pressure. https://t.co/tewkG4WPgx
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) November 25, 2023
Mick Hartley 
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