The attack on Israel on Oct. 7 brought horrible news to Thomas Hand.

At one point, he believed that his nine-year-old Irish-Israeli daughter Emily had been killed by the Hamas terrorists. Devastating news for any parent. He then had to try to reconcile himself to that fact, thinking at least she wasn't being tortured by the terrorists. Then he received news that she was alive — that she, her friend Hilla Rotem Shoshani, 13, with whom she'd been sleeping over, and Hila's mother were all kidnapped and taken to Gaza by Hamas. He worried last week as she spent her birthday in captivity.  "No party. No friends. She won’t even know if it’s day or night. There’s no light down there. So she won’t know it’s her birthday," her dad said he thought. 

But on Saturday, Emily and her friend Hilla were among the 13 Israelis who were released after more than 50 days in captivity. Hila's mother was not released; she is still being held. This was the second release of hostages; I wrote about the first group being welcomed home on Saturday. 13 Israelis — seven children and six women — and four Thai nationals were in this latest release. More are anticipated over the next couple of days. No Americans have been among the two groups released so far. 

This was the moment that Emily ran into the arms of her father, who could barely contain his joy. Then Hila ran into the enveloping embrace of her uncle as an IDF soldier looked on with happiness. 

The first hug! Here's the moment Emily Hand ran into the arms of her father.

And right after, Hila Rotem Shoshani ran into the arms of her uncle. Her mother is still being held hostage in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/c0sSvqaoNc

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 26, 2023

That was a wonderful moment, and hopefully, it will be repeated by more such moments to come. 

Irish Prime Minster Leo Varadkar caused some controversy over the news with his comment on the young girl's release. 

This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.

— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 25, 2023

"This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family," Varadkar posted. "An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief.  Our prayers have been answered."

He was immediately slammed for his description, which sounded as though the young girl had just wandered off and gotten lost rather than being savagely kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. 

She wasn’t “lost.” She was kidnapped by terrorists. https://t.co/yIlOz47T1Q

— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) November 25, 2023

Varadkar earned a Community Note, which chastised his usage of the terms "lost" and "found" as "misleading." Indeed, to say the least, why seemingly soft-pedal such an act? 

But Emily's family said it best: that they were "overjoyed" to have her back after all the emotions of the past 50 days.