A GRIEVING father welcomed the news that his daughter had been killed by Hamas monsters – because being taken hostage is “worse than death”.
Thomas Hand revealed he waited two agonising days to discover that his 8-year-old daughter, Emily, had been murdered by the terrorists after they stormed their Kibbutz on Saturday.
CNNThomas Hand knew the ‘best possibility’ was that his daughter had been killed[/caption]
The Palestinian militants unleashed a bloodbath on his KibbutzCNN
CNNHe said it was a ‘blessing’ 8-year-old daughter Emily was not taken hostage[/caption]
In a heartbreaking interview, the devastated Irish dad broke down in tears as he recalled the moment he found out his daughter’s body had been found.
“They said, we found Emily, she’s dead.
“And I went ‘yes!’ I went ‘yes’ and I smiled, because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew,” he told CNN.
“That was the best news of the possibilities that I knew…the best possibility I was hoping for.”
Emily had been staying with a friend at a nearby house in Be’eri Kibbutz when Palestinian militants attacked and slaughtered at least 100 Israelis.
Hand said that the whole town was pinned down by heavy gunfire all of Saturday and he had no idea about the whereabouts or fate of his child.
It took the Israeli Defence Force over eight hours of battling the terrorists door-to-door to liberate the town late on Sunday.
It was one of the last Kibbutzs to be freed from Hamas and was not declared safe for outsiders until Tuesday.
Describing the agonising two-day wait to be rescued, Hand said that the news of Emily’s death came as a “blessing”.
“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.
“The way they treat you, they’d have no food, they’d have no water, she’d been 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,” he added.
It comes as Israeli soldiers discovered scenes of indescribable horror in Kfar Aza – a Kibbutz near the Gaza border that was ravaged by Hamas militants.
Israeli forces took back control of the besieged town on Tuesday and were forced to recover the bodies of at least 40 babies and kids – with some found beheaded, Israel claimed.
Hamas militants armed with guns, grenades and knives killed entire families in their beds early on Saturday morning after storming over the border.
As Israel reels from the news of the horror, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “Hamas is worse than ISIS”.
He raged: “Every member of Hamas is a dead man”.
As the bloody conflict enters its sixth day, Israel is readying its forces at the border for a full-scale invasion of Gaza and has formed an emergency wartime cabinet.
More than 2,000 people have been killed since the Palestinian militants staged a surprise three-pronged assault by land, air and sea early on Saturday morning.
It was the deadliest attack in Israel’s 75-year history as gunmen rampaged through towns and even a music festival, killing over a thousand and taking at least 150 hostages to Gaza.
Hostages are reportedly being held as human shields in tunnels, apartments buildings and military bases to deter Israeli attacks.
One of the survivors from the music festival massacre told Sky News that she saw videos of her dead friend online as Hamas terrorists were “sitting on her and raping her”.
Last night, UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was forced to run for cover as Hamas fighters launched a barrage of rockets into southern Israel today.
He had to dash for safety when air sirens blared in Ofakim during his “solidarity” visit to the war-ravaged country.
Responding to the terrifying incident, Cleverly said: “Today I’ve seen a glimpse of what millions experience every day. The threat of Hamas rockets lingers over every Israeli man, woman and child.
“This is why we are standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel,” he wrote on Twitter/X.”
Meanwhile Israel’s military has readied 360,000 reserve troops and warned that hundreds of troops gathered near the Gaza border and are “ready to execute the mission we have been given”.
Tens of thousands of soldiers, volunteers, missile-launchers, dozens of tanks and ammunition have since been massed at the Gaza border, and could strike as early as next week.
The nation at war also continues to hammer neighbourhood after neighbourhood in Gaza City with dozens of fighter jets, with 1,200 Palestinians reported to have been killed.
Four British citizens have now been confirmed dead so far, while a further 13 – including children – are feared missing or killed.
At least 22 Americans have also been killed, the US state department confirmed.
The US has sent two warships armed with fighter jets and missiles to Israel to help them fight Hamas.
APHorrifying scenes from Hand’s town that was attacked on Saturday[/caption]
APRescuers working in Be’eri Kibbutz – where Hand’s daughter was killed[/caption]
APBody bags outside of a house after it was finally liberated by Irsaeli forces[/caption]
AFPSmoke rises above Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike[/caption]
APIsraelis take cover from incoming rocket fired by Hamas[/caption]
AFPIsrael forces pound artillery near the Gaza border[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
