A Hamas hostage released this week after 50 days of captivity speaks “only in whispers” says her fretful father after her time being “terrorised in hell”.
Tom Hand, 63, was reunited with daughter Emily after she had been abducted while at a sleepover in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas attack on October 7, along with her friend Hila, 13, who has also been released. Emily turned nine while in Gaza and is believed to have lost more than half a stone. Her concerned father says he will do whatever it takes to help her feel safe after her terrifying ordeal.
Mr Hand told the Sun: “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.
“They made her run from the Israeli army from house to house. 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.”
He added Emily remains in shock and is being evaluated by child trauma specialists in a hospital near Tel Aviv. He says she was deprived of food during her long ordeal.
Conditions endured by the hostages released during a cease-fire deal who were dragged into Gaza in October have started to be shared. They slept on plastic chairs for beds, were fed meals of rice and bread and sometimes had to wait hours before going to the bathroom.
In the 50 days since the hostages were taken captive, Israel has devastated the Gaza Strip with a ground and air offensive that has killed at least 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Under the current four-day cease-fire, Hamas has agreed to release a total of 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian security prisoners and ramping up aid to the pummeled enclave.
The fullest image yet of life under Hamas captivity was conjured by 85-year-old Yocheved Lipschitz, a hostage who was freed before the current cease-fire. Upon her release, Lipschitz said she had been held in tunnels which stretched under Gaza “like a spider web.” She said her captors “told us they are people who believe in the Quran and wouldn’t hurt us.”
Lifshitz said captives were treated well and received medical care, including medication. The guards kept conditions clean, she said. Hostages were given one meal a day of cheese, cucumber and pita, she said, adding her captors ate the same.