A nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl was among the latest group of hostages released by Hamas fighters on Saturday, Ireland’s prime minister said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family,” Leo Varadkar said.<\/p>\n
“An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”<\/p>\n
Emily was one of about 240 people snatched by Hamas gunmen when they broke through Gaza’s militarised border with Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, according to Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n
Following the deadliest attack in its history, Israel launched an air, artillery and naval bombardment alongside a ground offensive to destroy Hamas, killing nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians and including thousands of children, according to the Hamas government in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Hamas on Saturday released a second group of Israeli and foreign civilians it had been holding hostage in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
Israeli authorities said 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens had returned to Israel.<\/p>\n
The exchange came after an hours-long unexpected delay set nerves on edge.<\/p>\n