Over two months after her release from Hamas captivity, nine-year-old Emily Hand continues to grapple with the traumatic experience, often resorting to code words to discuss her ordeal, her father, Thomas Hand, revealed in a recent interview with Israeli network Kan.
Emily, who was just eight when she was abducted from a kibbutz during an attack on October 7, remains reticent about her harrowing experience. "Just every now and then, [she gives] little snippets of information," Thomas Hand shared. The family has been advised by psychiatrists not to probe her for details, but to let her share her experiences voluntarily.
In the instances when Emily does open up about her time in captivity, she uses the names of foods or objects she dislikes as code words. For instance, when asked by her father what 'Zeitim' (Hebrew for olives) meant, she responded with "terrorists." Thomas Hand explained, "Any food or item that she doesnt like, she transfers that word into code."
When asked why she uses this code system, Emily, who holds Israeli-Irish nationality, responded, "Sometimes it is uncomfortable for me to say these words."
Thomas Hand detailed that during her captivity, Emily was moved from house to house in Gaza by her captors, who were mostly men, presumably to stay one step ahead of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Emily refers to her time in captivity as "the box," and shared that none of her captors were ever kind to her.
In a chilling revelation, Thomas Hand recounted that a Hamas member once threatened Emily, warning her to "Uskut" (Arabic for be quiet) or face death by knife.
Despite the trauma, Emily is "making progress" in her recovery, her father said. However, he noted that she returned from Gaza "a bit more mature," but also "insecure." "She always wants to know that the door is locked, that the shutters are down," he said. "She wants to feel secure in the house."
The Hand family's ordeal made international headlines when Thomas Hand, under the impression that his daughter had been killed during the attack on Kibbutz Beeri, told reporters that his daughter dying "was the best possibility."
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