Thomas Hand, the father of 9-year-old former hostage Emily, wept during a live broadcast Monday after learning of the deaths of both hostages.
hand Appeared She appeared with her daughter on Piers Morgan's Uncensored show and talked about the Israel-Hamas war and their traumatic experience. During the show, host Piers Morgan told Thomas he had just learned that Hamas had released a video purporting to show the bodies of two hostages. (Related: Israel Defense Forces releases video of tunnel complex used by Hamas to hold hostages)
Hamas claimed the two bodies were those of Yossi Shalabi and Itai Svirski, and reiterated that they were killed by Israel.
“An absolute nightmare,” Thomas reacted to the news in a video segment posted by the show on Twitter. When Piers Morgan said the names of the two murdered hostages, Thomas said “no” and started crying. His nine-year-old daughter was seen wiping her “her father's tears” in the video.
Nine-year-old Emily Hand wipes away her father's tears after learning that one of the Hamas hostages she was being held with has been killed.
Watch Piers Morgan's powerful interview with Thomas Hand at 8pm (UK): https://t.co/dN4dimJCmf@piersmorgan | @Talk TV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/SKZEq6feeU
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUnchaned) January 15, 2024
Once Thomas composed himself, he told Morgan that Svirski had been “with Emily throughout her incarceration” and that “there was nothing wrong with him.” [Svirsky]” Mr. Thomas shared the opinion that it was Hamas that killed the hostages and blamed Israel.
Emily was released from Hamas captivity on November 28 following a temporary ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas. Thomas told reporters that when she reunited with her daughter, her daughter told her she thought she too had been taken hostage by Hamas. “She had no idea what the hell happened that morning. So she assumed everyone was going to be kidnapped, killed, or brutally murdered. She had no idea. “I didn't,” Thomas said.
Thomas was initially told that her daughter had been killed in the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. “She was either dead or in Gaza. If you know anything about what they're doing to the people of Gaza, it's worse than death, it's worse than death. “Thomas recalled.
