Brave schoolgirl cries with joy after dramatic release of fellow Hamas hostage

09 June 2024 , 21:13

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Emily Hand (second from right) reunited with her father, Tom Hand (Image: IDF)

Brave schoolgirl Emily Hand cried with joy at the dramatic release of fellow hostage Noa Argamani.

Emily, nine, spent all her 50 days in captivity with Noa, 26, after they were seized separately by Hamas on October 7. After Noa was freed on Saturday, Emily’s dad, Dublin-born Tom, told the Mirror: “It’s amazing – Emily and I couldn’t stop crying all day long.

“Emily has already asked to meet Noa and give her a hug.” Noa and three others were freed in a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry said killed 274 people, including children and civilians.

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell branded it a “massacre” and UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, des-cribed scenes of “shredded bodies on the ground”. Israelis military spokesman Daniel Hagari estimated there were fewer than 100 casualties in the “high-risk, complex mission” which was based on “precise intelligence”.

Emily, nine, spent all her 50 days in captivity with Noa (pictured) (Israel Foreign Ministry/UPI/REX/Shutterstock)

Noa, along with Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, were abducted from the Nova music festival. All four have been returned to Israel and are said to be in good medical condition in a hospital near Tel Aviv. Noa has been reunited with mum Liora Argamani, who has stage four brain cancer.

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Tom said: “Noa was with Emily for the full 50 days, till the day of Emily’s release. So it’s a very emotional day for us. I want to have a party, but with more than 100 people still being held, it must remain on hold. Today gave us a massive lift."

Tom said Emily and Noa grew close during their ordeal. He said: “Emily says, at least at the beginning, Noa was a lovely, friendly, happy young woman but as time went on that deteriorated. I don’t know what they were doing to her.”

Asked when Emily last saw Noa he said: “On the night when they were separated, Noa would not have known whether Emily and Hila were being dragged off to be killed. The hope is that, as the four rescued hostages were still alive, there are other little pockets of people still alive.”

The Israeli Defence Force has said it accidentally killed several hostages during plans to free them, including three in a mistaken attack in December.

Paul Martin