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An X-post from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar about the release of a nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl from captivity in the Gaza Strip has sparked outrage. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on Sunday that Israel wanted to summon the Irish ambassador because of the “scandalous statements”.

The Irish head of government wrote on the X platform, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening: “This is a day of great joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned and we breathe a sigh of relief.”

In Israel, this description was criticized for downplaying the hostage-taking by the Islamist Hamas. Benny Gantz, minister in the Israeli war cabinet, wrote further

After the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, the girl was initially presumed dead. Her Irish-born father, Thomas Hand, tearfully expressed relief that she had not fallen into the hands of Hamas in an emotional television interview because that would have been “worse than death.” It was later said that she might have been taken hostage after all. Last week, Thomas Hand made an emotional appeal for his daughter’s release, saying the family was living through a nightmare.

On Saturday evening, the Red Cross brought a total of thirteen Israelis – including four German-Israelis – and four Thai citizens across the border to Egypt. After crossing the border, the hostages were flown to a hospital in Israel. At the hospital, Emily was reunited with her father and two half-siblings. In total, approximately 240 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, including numerous foreigners and dual nationals. (sda/dpa)