WHEN she ran into her dad’s open arms after 50 days of hostage hell in Gaza, nine-year-old Emily Hand was traumatized and broken.
The wide-eyed vagabond was weighed down, her clothes and hair were matted and dirty, and she couldn’t speak more than a whisper.
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Emily with her father Thomas hands Credit: Dan Charity
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Emily sits with a poster of her face after being kidnapped by Hamas Credit: Dan Charity
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Dad Tom said he hoped his daughter was dead and not a prisoner of Hamas. Credit: Reuters
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Emily Hand at her mother’s grave with her sister NatalieCredit: Dan Charity
Her father Tom – who previously told the world his little girl was better off dead than in the jaws of Hamas savages – held back tears knowing he had to stay strong.
But today – on the first anniversary of Hamas’ terror that shook the world – the brave little girl who came back from the dead is busy rebuilding her life.
And her family’s story shines a rare ray of hope as war-torn Israel struggles to emerge from a year of darkness and despair.
Tom, 64, told the Sun: “Emily has been through absolute hell but she’s a fighter – and she’s smiling again.
“When she was released, she was afraid to speak more than a whisper because the terrorists threatened to shoot or stab her if she made too much noise.
“But a year later she’s back to her old self and is as loud and rowdy as ever – I never complain again, no matter how noisy she is!
“We have a new home in a new, safe kibbutz away from Gaza, and she is back at school with some of her old friends and is starting to enjoy life again.
“It’s horrible to remember the dark times, but I have to be thankful that I brought her back and gave her every chance to be happy and enjoy every day.
“Her recovery shows the terrorists that they will never defeat her, they will never defeat me, they will never defeat the people of my kibbutz and they will never defeat Israel.
“Hamas attacked us, but they only managed to make us stronger, more united and more determined.”
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Dublin-born Tom – who grew up in London – traveled to Israel three decades ago to volunteer on a kibbutz near Gaza.
He had two children Aiden, 30, and Natali, 27, with wife Narkis before they split, then had Emily with new partner Liat, who died of breast cancer when Emily was two.
Narkis, 52, was killed on October 7 when 400 Hamas thugs rampaged through Kibbutz Be’era.
Emily was sleeping over at a friend’s home when she was abducted, and Tom survived by barricading himself in a safe room at 7 p.m.
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Emily is reunited with her father after being returned to IsraelCredit: AP
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Hamas released a cruel video of the captured Emily
Emily – who was chased from house to house by Hamas fighters during gun battles with Israeli soldiers – turned nine while in Gaza before being released last November.
Tom – who has moved to a new home in Kibbutz Hatzerim, 20 miles from Gaza – said: “Emily is still afraid of loud noises and couldn’t sleep alone for a long time after she got back.
“He still has nightmares but counseling has helped and things are much better now.
“She spent her last birthday in hell so I’m going to make sure she has a party to remember this year when she turns 10 on October 17.
“We are happy now, but things will never be the same and no one feels capable of a normal life until the remaining hostages in Gaza are freed.
“This October 7, we will remember those who died, but also those who are still in captivity.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have Emily back, but our thoughts are always with the hostages.”
Families of murdered and kidnapped Britons poured out their grief on Sunday as they prepared for poignant anniversary vigils on Monday.
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Narkis Hand, Tom’s wife, was killed by Hamas terrorists during the attack
Papa Tom discovers what happened to Emily
Tom revealed that Emily had told him that she was not – as was believed – being held in a maze of Hamas terror tunnels dubbed the “Gaza Metro”.
But instead she faced the greater danger of being moved from one safe house to another at the height of Israel’s revenge attack on the terrorist group’s 25-mile stronghold.
He said of the Hamas gunmen: “They shouted ‘yala yala yala’ in Arabic — ‘hurry hurry hurry’ — at my terrified little girl as she ran for her life.
“They made her run from house to house from the Israeli army.
“They kept moving her – sometimes under fire – to stay one step ahead of the army.
“She must have been completely terrified – an eight-year-old girl being led by strangers from one blown-up shell to another house in the middle of a war zone.”
The moving ceremonies were planned amid a major security operation near a kibbutz village in southern Israel where 1,200 were slaughtered and 251 kidnapped.
Traumatized survivors of the carnage will remember their loved ones in heartbreaking commemorations starting exactly one year since the horror began at 6.29am.
Grieving families began to gather at the venue of the Nova music festival before dawn, with each victim memorialized in photographs above small monuments.
Families – many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with pictures of their lost loved ones – wept and hugged each other tightly in the pre-dawn glow.
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A woman sobs while holding photos of the two victims killed at the NovaZasluge: Charity Day festival
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Two women comfort each other at the scene Credit: Dan Charity
Bristol-born Lianne Sharabi, 48, was killed along with her British-Israeli daughters Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13.
The girls’ dad Eli (52) and uncle Yossi (53) were dragged to Gaza, but it was later revealed that Yossi was killed in captivity.
Their uncle, Sharon Sarabi, 49, told The Sun: “Lianne loved Israel but remained very British – she loved beer and spicy food and had a wicked sense of humour.
“Her daughters loved to sing and dance at family gatherings and I will never forget how happy they all were the last time I saw them.
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Lianne Sharabi, born in Bristol, was killed along with her daughters in the horrific attack Credit: Submitted
“We believe that their father Eli is still alive in Gaza and that we could not continue our lives while holding on to that hope – the hope that there will not be a fifth coffin and a fifth funeral.
“7. October was the day that changed our world and destroyed the life we had – I quit my job in IT to focus on campaigning for the return of our hostages.
“I’ll take time to remember all the people we lost on the anniversary, but right now I’m focused on the hostages – we have to keep hope alive.”
British mom Ayelet Svatitzky (47) will never forget the morning of October 7 last year when terror broke out – and her worst fears were confirmed by a picture that arrived on her phone.
Ayelet was at home, miles away from the horror, when a video of her horrified brother Nadav Popplewell, 51, and mother Channah, 80, surfaced with just one word in the caption: “Hamas”.
The terrorists grabbed Channah’s phone and gleefully sent her daughter a video to parade their hostage trophies.
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Ayelet Svatitzky shows a picture of her mother Channah Peri during a press conference Credit: Reuters
Ayelet’s older brother Roi Popplewell (53) was killed in a terrorist attack on Kibbutz Nirim while her other loved ones were taken away.
The mother-of-three, whose grandfather was ex-British Army soldier Ron Popplewell, from Wakefield, West Yorks, said: “My blood boiled when I realized what was happening to my family.
“It’s been a year since it happened, but it still haunts me – and always will.
“They took them away, put them over motorcycles, and my elderly mother was surrounded by a mob that tore her limbs as she paraded through the streets of Gaza.
“She was released in a ceasefire deal, but in June Hamas claimed that Nadav was killed in an IDF strike in June, which was finally confirmed in August.
“This has been the worst year of my life, but I’m happy that my mom is back home and that I was able to bury my brothers – and that at least their suffering is over.”
“It affected me badly – now I only wear black clothes – and I feel guilty whenever I find myself enjoying the moments of my life, knowing that hostages are still trapped in hell.
“We need them to be free so everyone can start living their lives and learn to be happy again.”
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Tom Hand met Sun shortly after his daughter was kidnapped Credit: Doug Seeburg
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