A devastated father has described the relief he felt at learning his eight-year-old daughter had been murdered by Hamas, rather than being captured and taken hostage.
Thomas Hand, originally from Ireland, broke down as he recalled the moment Islamist militants massacred residents at the Be’eri Kibbutz, including his daughter Emily.
“They just said we found Emily, she’s dead and I went, ‘yes’. I went, ‘yes’ and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew," he told CNN.
"That was the best, possibly that I was hoping for. She was either dead or in Gaza. And if you know anything about what they do to people in Gaza, that is worse than death.
“That is worse than death. The way they treat you. They’d have no food, they’d have no water. She’d be in a dark room filled with Christ knows how many people and terrified every minute, hour, day and possible years to come. So, death was a blessing, an absolute blessing."
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