A devastated father has said welcomed the news that his eight-year-old daughter had been killed by Hamas terrorists because it was better than being taken hostage during the barbaric attack on the Be'eri Kibbutz.
Thomas Hand faced an unbearable two-day wait for news about his daughter Emily after Palestinian terrorists stormed their kibbutz at around 7am on Saturday, massacring at least 100 people.
Mr Hand said the kibbutz came under gunfire for about 12 hours that day, during which he did not know the whereabouts or fate of his child after she had gone to sleep at a neighbor's house - something she rarely did.
In a heartbreaking interview with CNN, Mr Hand broke down in tears as he recounted the moment he was finally told his daughter's body had been found - and said his reaction was one of relief that she had not been kidnapped instead.
'They said, "We found Emily. She's dead," and I just went "Yes!" I went "yes", and I smiled, because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew,' Mr Hand said in a shaking voice.
She doesn't do it very often, but unfortunately that night, that particular night - Friday night - she went to sleep at her friend's house,' recounted Hand. The next morning, the kibbutz was under attack.
Mr Hand described how he felt during the siege:
'I'm thinking, the Army are going to be here soon. Just hold on a bit longer, and longer, and longer.' Later, when he was informed of his daughter's murder he said: 'I just went "Yes!"' 'That was the best news of the possibilities that I knew...' as his voice trailed off through tears. '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,' he said. '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.'
Beyond the estimated 1,200 Israelis Hamas butchered over the weekend, the Palestinian terrorists kidnapped scores of Israelis, including some 20 Americans whose whereabouts remain unknown. They committed unimaginable acts of violence against innocent Israelis, including raping and dragging through the streets the bodies of women and girls, burning families alive, and reportedly decapitating babies.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Force took reporters including a Fox News crew to Be'eri, which is three miles from the Gaza border. The kibbutz was, until Saturday, known as an artistic and farming community of 1,200 people.
