Eight-year-old Israeli-Irish girl originally feared dead may celebrate birthday as hostage, says father

An eight-year-old Irish-Israeli girl originally feared dead will now likely spend her birthday as a hostage as it is now believed she was kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, her father has said.

Dubliner Thomas Hand gave an emotional interview to Sky News in which he said he thought his "family nightmare" was over when he was informed his daughter had been killed in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, as he could begin to grieve.

Upon hearing that she could be in Gaza, Mr Hand says he immediately started thinking about how she was taken and the conditions she may be living in.