"Rather a Blessing"... The Agonized Cry of an Israeli Father Confirming the Death of His 8-Year-Old Daughter

"Better Than Suffering as a Hamas Hostage"

As the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas intensifies, a father who lost his young daughter in Hamas's attack could not hide his grief throughout the interview.

On the 12th (local time), U.S. media outlets including CNN reported the story of Thomas Hand, a resident of the Be'eri Kibbutz (collective farm) in southern Israel, which was attacked by Hamas.

According to the report, when Hamas militants stormed Be'eri at 7 a.m. on the 7th, Thomas had to wait anxiously for two full days without knowing whether his daughter Emily was alive. Emily had gone out the previous day, saying she would spend the night at a friend's house. Thomas had been raising Emily alone after his wife passed away from cancer several years ago.

Thomas, who was trapped avoiding gunfire for about 12 hours, had no information about Emily’s whereabouts or condition while she was at her friend’s house. Thomas was rescued by the Israeli military and survived dramatically, but he later confirmed his daughter’s death.

Thomas Hand, who lost his young daughter. [Image source=CNN]

In an interview with CNN, Thomas said he felt a sense of relief that his daughter had died rather than being taken hostage.

With tears in his eyes, he said, "Someone told me, ‘We found Emily. She is dead,’ and I just smiled because Emily’s death was the best news among all the possibilities I could imagine."

He continued, "Emily would have either been dead or in Gaza. If you know what Hamas does to people in Gaza, that would be worse than death. Rather than having a child trapped in a dark room suffering every moment, death is a blessing."

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that by 2 p.m. that day, 1,417 people had died in Gaza alone, including 447 children and 248 women. Adding 31 deaths in the West Bank brings the total to 1,448. The total number of injured Palestinians is reported to be 6,868.

Israel has emphasized its intention for retaliation with strong language. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister who agreed with some opposition parties to form a wartime coalition government, said to Hamas on the same day, "They are all dead men walking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.