An Irish man has spoken about the death of his daughter in Saturday's attack by Hamas on the Kibbutz Be'eri in Israel.
Tom Hand, who is originally from Dublin, told CNN that his eight-year-old daughter Emily had gone to stay at her friend's house in the kibbutz near Gaza on Friday night.
The report outlines how Mr Hand was "pinned down under heavy gunfire unable to reach his daughter" for 12 hours.
During the interview, he described the moment he found out that her body had been found, after waiting for two days for news.
In tears, Mr Hand said it was a relief to find out that she was dead and had not been kidnapped.
"They just said, we've found Emily, she's dead. And I went 'yes' ... and smiled cause that is the best news of the possibilties that I knew ... she was either dead or in Gaza, and if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death ... so death was a blessing, an absolute blessing."
Mr Hand shared videos and photos of Emily with CNN.
According to his Facebook page, Mr Hand is originally from Dublin.
He went to secondary school in east London at Canon Palmer Catholic School, which is now the Palmer Catholic Academy, and he studied at Redbridge Technical College, which is now part of the New City College Group.
According to the CNN article, Mr Hand "came to Be'eri 30 years ago as a volunteer, planning to stay a few months, and never left.
"After his wife, Emily's mother, died of cancer a few years ago, he and Emily have lived here on their own."
The Facebook page of the Kibbutz Be'eri Volunteers shows that Mr Hand was an administrator of the group since 2010.
In a heart-wrenching interview on @CNNsitRoom, CNN reporter Clarissa Ward speaks with @WolfBlitzer about a grieving father who finally received confirmation of his daughter's tragic death during the Hamas attack. Watch: pic.twitter.com/F9Yh3lW5KI
— CNN (@CNN) October 12, 2023
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that it was "not in a position to comment on the specifics of this case at this time".
