Pledge to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in bid to return Emily Hand to her family

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said he will be raising Emily’s case during a visit to Israel.
Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin met Emily’s father Tom in Dublin on Tuesday afternoon (PA)
PA Wire
By Grinne N. Aodha14 November 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Ireland’s deputy premier has said the government will leave “no stone unturned” in their efforts to return an Irish-Israeli girl to her family.

Emily Hand, eight, was initially thought to be dead in the aftermath of the attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, but recent information indicates that she is now feared kidnapped to Gaza.

Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin met Emily’s father Tom in Dublin on Tuesday afternoon.

“Everyone in Ireland feels the deepest sympathy for Thomas and all the Hand family, given the horrific and traumatic ordeal they are currently experiencing,” he said.

“Emily will turn nine on Friday… This brilliant and talented young girl needs to be returned to her family immediately.

“My department will leave no stone unturned in pursuing that outcome.”

He added: “We have been engaging intensively internationally through political, official and security channels in a bid to secure Emily’s safe return.

“Later this week, I will be raising Emily’s case in all appropriate meetings during my visit to Israel, Egypt and the occupied Palestinian territory.

“All our thoughts are with Emily and her family at this profoundly difficult time. All hostages in Gaza should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Speaking on RTE Radio, Irish premier Leo Varadkar said it was important not to forget Emily’s case.

The Taoiseach said he met the Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich about Irish citizens who wished to leave Gaza and was told that it is not the case that Israel is refusing to let Irish citizens leave.

“I’m very conscious that we have citizens in Gaza, I’m very conscious that there’s a young Irish girl, nine years old this week, Emily Hand, who is being held by Hamas as a hostage in Gaza, let’s not forget her,” he told RTE Radio.

“Very conscious that we have 400 Irish troops on the Israeli border in Golan, in southern Lebanon. Their safety is paramount to me and in everything we do and say, we’re bearing all of those things very much in mind.”

He said that the situation in Gaza is “deteriorating rapidly”, and a ceasefire should be put in place and adhered to by all sides.

He said that Hamas cannot be blamed for violence in the West Bank, which he said was “significant” that it had been raised as an issue by British PM Rishi Sunak, an ally of Israel.

He said Ireland would not change its position in calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in