Exclusive Interview: A Father's Account of His Daughter Emily Hand's Miraculous Survival in Hamas Captivity
Surviving Hamas captivity, young Emily Hand endured fleeing from house to house during Israeli attacks in Gaza, as her father Thomas Hand reveals A tale of hope, celebration with Beyonce video, and family dog, overcoming deprivation with a journey towards recovery
Emily Hand was forced to flee from one house to another as Israeli forces attacked Gaza, according to her father, Thomas Hand, who told CNN that it was a terrifying experience. "Being pulled, dragged, pushed... under gunfire probably," he said on Tuesday.
The details of what happened to his daughter after she was kidnapped on October 7 and taken to Gaza are slowly being shared by her, now referring to the place as "the box."
"Little by little, she's beginning to open up," Hand said.
"He told CNN that we'll only know what she truly experienced once she opens up. 'I want to know so much information... but you have to let them, when they are ready, come out with it.'"
Emily, who celebrated her 9th birthday in captivity, was held with her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani and Hila's mother Raaya before the children were released last Saturday.
Raaya cared for Hila and Emily as if they were her own daughters, Hand said. The separation of Hila from her mother two nights before the girls were freed - in violation of agreements between Hamas and Israel - was "another act of cruelty," he said.
This September 2023 photo shows Emily Hand near Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel.
Yael Shahrur Noah/AP
From death to captivity to hope
During a sleepover at Hila's house, Emily was caught in the chaos when Hamas terrorists attacked Kibbutz Beeri. As the community was devastated - with approximately 130 residents killed and others taken captive - Hand was unable to contact his daughter while being trapped in his house for hours.
Two days later, he received news from kibbutz leaders that Emily's body had been found. He told CNN, "They just said, 'We found Emily. She's dead.' I went, 'Yes!' and smiled, because that was the best news of the possibilities that I knew ... So death was a blessing, an absolute blessing."
However, nearly a month later, the Israeli army informed him that it was "highly probable" Emily was alive and being held hostage by Hamas. The military had been gathering bits of information and intelligence. None of the remains found at Kibbutz Beeri were identified as Emily's. There was no blood in the house where she slept. And a backpack belonging to Hila's family had been traced to Gaza.
Celebration with Beyonce video and family dog
From once believing that death would be a relief, he now harbored immense fear for the conditions in which Emily was being kept. "The uncertainty is dreadful. The waiting is dreadful," he confided to CNN during her captivity. Yet, there was also a glimmer of hope.
It had been eight weeks since Hand had seen his daughter when he received the news that Emily was on the list of hostages to be released in the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. Trying to contain his excitement, Hand made his way to the base where the hostages were being taken. After a long delay, he received word that she was with the Red Cross.
"The door suddenly swung open and she bolted. It was breathtaking, just as I had envisioned it, running together," Thomas described. "I probably hugged her too tightly," he confessed, offering his perspective on the now famous video of their reunion, where he lovingly calls her by her nickname "Emush."
"It wasn't until she took a step back that I noticed her face had matured, resembling mine, whereas before it had been round and youthful, like a child's."
Like the other hostages, Emily has lost body weight and Hand said he had never seen her so pale.
And he was jolted when she spoke to him.
First testimonies shed light on the conditions endured by Hamas Israeli hostages
"The most unsettling aspect of meeting her was her barely audible whisper. I had to press my ear against her lips," he said. "She had been conditioned to remain silent." According to Thomas, a photograph of the father and daughter released by the Israel Defense Forces provides a glimpse of the situation.
"You could just see glassy-eyed terror," he said.
But he also saw a sign of the child he knew when he offered her his phone in the van leaving the handover.
"She immediately played a Beyonce song," he explained. "She was smiling and even starting to laugh again."
He brought the family dog, Johnsie, to the reunion to provide and receive unconditional love, just in case Emily was upset with him for not coming to rescue her - a fear he had held since finding out she was alive.
But Emily told her father she thought he had been taken hostage too.
And when he asked her how long she thought she was gone, she replied "a year."
"Apart from the whispering, that was a punch in the guts. A year."
Emily Hand embraces her father at a hospital in Israel after being released by Hamas on November 25.
Israel Army/AFP via Getty Images
Deprivation, but now recovery
The hostages had enough food to survive and plenty of water to drink, Hand said. "They always had a breakfast, sometimes lunch, sometimes something in the evening."
Emily's hunger drove her to develop a taste for eating plain bread with olive oil.
She expressed, "No one physically attacked us," and Hand speculated that the sound of their voices alone was sufficient to assert authority over her. The children were prohibited from making noise and had minimal activities, aside from drawing and playing with cards.
Emily was fortunate to be supported by Hila and Raaya, finding comfort in the knowledge that Emily was surrounded by people who cared for her. "She looked after them like her own two kids," expressed her gratitude.
Sadly, Emily lost her mother to cancer at the age of 2, and Hand had to break the news of her "second mom's" passing on October 7. Narkis Hand, Hand's former wife, was the mother of Emily's two half-siblings.
"That was incredibly difficult," he said, "When we told her, her eyes went vacant and she sharply gasped."
Hand also mentioned that along with her grief, Emily had come back with lice infesting her pale skin and sunken face.
But she is gradually resurfacing. She attempts to savor the time with her family, but once she finally retires to bed, she falls into a deep slumber.
Despite everything, she has not shut herself off. "Last night, she cried until her face was red and blotchy, unable to control it. She didn't seek any comfort; I suppose she's forgotten how to be comforted," Hand recounted. "She curled up under the bed covers, wrapped herself in the quilt, and cried quietly."
She preferred not to be touched, so Hand patiently waited until she was comfortable. "She's a determined and strong little girl. I knew her spirit would help her pull through."
Hand mentioned that Emily and Hila now watch out for each other. They marked Hila's 13th birthday with a hospital celebration on Monday and also brought a cake for Emily, who missed her 9th birthday in Gaza.
Thomass attention is divided between getting Emily well and bringing Raya and the other hostages home. He is determined to do everything in his power to achieve these goals and is counting on the same level of support he received while Emily was missing to remain strong.
"We must bring Raya back for Hila, for Emily, and for justice," he stated.
"Dont go silent on us now," he implored the world. "Bring them home, bring them home."
