From Gaza captivity to a new beginning, Emily Hand prepares to return home

(JNS) - "Obviously, the first thing you want to do is try to understand what she went through. I still don't know half of it. When she's older, I might be able to ask her."

For Tom Hand, father of former Hamas hostage Emily Hand, the questions surrounding his daughter's 50 days in captivity remain largely unanswered. Yet nearly three years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, he says the 11-year-old has shown remarkable resilience as she rebuilds her life and prepares to return home.

On the morning of Oct. 7, Emily, then eight, was sleeping at the home of her friend Hila Rotem Shoshani in K...