Watch this video of Emily Hand, the little girl who spent her ninth birthday in Hamas’s grips, learn that Itai Svirsky, an Israeli hostage who was with her in captivity, is dead.
While on air, Piers Morgan tells Thomas Hand about the Hamas propaganda video claiming that two hostages, Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky, are dead.
Thomas is clearly emotional as he says: "Itai Svirsky was with Emily for the whole duration of her captivity. There was nothing… pic.twitter.com/zoBlKIKWRr
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) January 15, 2024
Emily’s father, Thomas, at first thought Hamas killed Emily on October 7 when she was sleeping over at a friend’s house. He then found out she was taken hostage — which, he said at the time, might be worse than death. He has since been a loud voice for the remaining hostages.
Thomas’s baby is home now. But it’s not a happy ending, not for the Hand family, and not for the families of other Israeli hostages. Hamas released a propaganda video this week claiming that Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, were killed by an IDF strike. Hamas made Noa Argamani, 26, another hostage and the woman whom Hamas dragged away on a motorcycle on October 7, film the video announcement.
“So they’ve killed him,” Thomas said of Svirsky. “Okay. And, of course, blaming the IDF — why wouldn’t you.”
To watch Emily, who has endured so much, wipe tears from her father’s anguished face . . . words fall short.