MY DARLING GIRL HAS SUFFERED ENOUGH

Hamas due to release 20 after delay. 200 are still held captive in Gaza

-  PAUL MARTIN

A DAD'S emotional reunion with his kidnapped daughter hung in the balance last night after a hostage swap was delayed by Hamas in a dispute over aid trucks.

Thomas Hand was desperate to hug Emily, nine, after she was snatched on October 7.

AGONISING DELAY

A DAD was last night due to have a tearful reunion with the nineyear-old daughter he thought had been killed by Hamas terrorists.

Thomas Hand spoke of his nerve-shredding wait to hug Emily again and said he would tell her: "I love you, I love you, I love you." The schoolgirl was snatched in her pyjamas during the October 7 rampage and turned nine in captivity.

Last night she was expected to be among more than a dozen hostages set free by Hamas as the clock ticks down on the four-day ceasefire.

In a final agonising blow, Hamas delayed the release of the latest batch of hostages for hours.

Irishman Thomas said Emily would be greeted by her beloved dog and cuddly toys - and he planned to throw her "the best birthday party she never had".

Thomas, 63, said he would give her a huge hug - although he was scared to squeeze her too tightly because he did not know if she had any injuries, like broken ribs.

"I have no idea what they've done to her since they grabbed my poor innocent little girl," he said.

Thomas has been IrishIsraeli Emily's sole parent after her mother died from cancer when she was two.

He was initially she inform was among 100 people killed in an attack on a kibbutz three miles from Gaza on October 7 while visiting a on a friend sleepover.

Thomas later learned she was alive and being held.

He said Emily's dog Johnsie would be an important part of her recovery.