The family of 9-year-old Emily Hand initially believed she had been killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack, before discovering she had been kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza .
A nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl, kidnapped by Hamas during the deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, is on a list of hostages to be released from Gaza.
Israeli sources told Euronews that Emily Hand was to be released, and that she would be among the first group of hostages in a new agreement concluded between the parties. The release, initially scheduled for today, will visibly be postponed until tomorrow (Friday, November 24), according to a recent statement by an Israeli official.
Kidnapped women and children should be released as a priority, before other hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons in exchange for 50 hostages and a multi-day ceasefire between the two sides.
There is hope that more hostages will be released if the ceasefire extends beyond the initial period.
During the cessation of fighting, humanitarian aid is expected to enter the Gaza Strip, to supply it with fuel, among other things.
Emily Hand celebrated her 9th birthday last Friday, while she was held by Hamas.
Her family initially believed she had been murdered in the Hamas massacre on the kibbutz where she was staying with a friend, but authorities later informed them that she was alive and had been taken away. in Gaza.