Irish citizen Emily Hand is understood to be among the first group of hostages held in Gaza that are set to be freed by Hamas.
The nine-year-old, whose birthday was last week, was taken as part of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. It was initially believed that she had died in the attack but her family was later informed she was a hostage.
Emily's father Tom is from Dublin and has been in Ireland recently with her sister Natali in an effort to get Emily released from Hamas custody. Family members held a birthday party for Emily in St Stephen's Green over the weekend.
Read more: Family of hostage Emily Hand hold vigil on her birthday as they hope for safe return
Read more: Dublin family that fled Gaza for Ireland 'torn' to leave behind loves ones in warzone
Emily, as well as 49 others on the list, could be released back to Israel as early at Thursday November 23. As part of the deal struck between Israel and Hamas a ceasefire will take place for at least four days with at least 10 hostages released each day in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
It was at Kibbutz Be’eri near Gaza in Israel that Hamas attacked while Emily had gone for a sleepover in a friend’s house. Reports revealed how Tom was “pinned down under heavy gunfire unable to reach his daughter” for 12 hours.
It was not until two days after the attack on October 7 that he was told that Emily’s body had been found. Tom revealed: “They just said, ‘We’ve found Emily, she’s dead’. She was either dead or in Gaza, and if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death. So death was a blessing.”
Tom was told weeks later that Emily was thought to be alive in Gaza. Emily’s sister Natali said on Israeli TV: “We are doing everything to get you home. We know you are being held hostage. We love you so much and miss you.”
For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
