The Prime Minister of Ireland was lambasted online for his remarks about a 9-year-old Israeli girl who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and taken as a hostage.

As Blaze News previously reported on Saturday, Hamas released 17 hostages – 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals. The hostage swap happened on the second day of the temporary four-day truce between Israel and Hamas.

Included in the Israeli hostages was 9-year-old Emily Hand – a girl of Irish and Israeli descent. Her father initially believed that his daughter was murdered during the onslaught by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Hand was held captive by Hamas terrorists for 50 days – during that time, Emily turned nine years old.

Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar commented on the hostage release on Saturday. However, Varadkar received a barrage of criticism for the wording of Hand's release by the Hamas terrorists.

"This is a day of enormous 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 massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered," Varadkar wrote on the X social media platform.

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Varadkar's tweet was slapped with a disclaimer from X: "Readers added context they thought people might want to know."

"Emily Hand was kidnapped by Hamas Terrorists on October the 7th," the message from X read. "The use of the term lost is inappropriate and fails to highlight that she was released as part of a hostage deal."

Not only was Varadkar corrected by the social media network, but many online commentators obliterated Varadkar for his mischaracterization of the hostage release of the kidnapped girl.

Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy: "Emily Hand wasn't 'lost.' She was brutally abducted by the death squads that massacred her neighbors. She wasn't 'found.' Hamas knew where she was all along and cynically held her as a hostage. And Hamas didn't answer your prayers. It answered Israel's military pressure."

Author Bethany S. Mandel: "As a Jew of Irish descent, I am so horrified and disgusted. Lost and found like she went for a f***ing hike in the woods."

Journalist Kassy Dillon: "She wasn’t 'lost.' She was kidnapped by terrorists."

Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik: "This is disgusting. Prime Minister of Ireland says an Irish-Isareli child was 'lost' and has been found and returned to her family. That child was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7 and was released today in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. She was not 'lost.'"

Podcast host Konstantin Kisin: "We need a complete shutdown of these people being elected until we can work out what the hell is going on."

Actor Dean Cain: "She wasn’t 'lost.' She was kidnapped by terrorists."

Muslim influencer Mohammad Tawhidi: "Translation: Emily was kidnapped by Hamas, but I am a crooked coward who will make it sound as though she was lost in a shopping mall."

Political commentator Carl Benjamin: "It is important to remember that leftists believe that the villains are powerless to resist their own barbaric impulses. They are victims of circumstance, not bad people, and therefore any boon that comes from them is equivalent to an act of God to be praised."

Fighter Conor McGregor: "She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization. What is with you and your government and your paid for media affiliates constantly down playing / attempting to repress horrific acts that happen to children. You are a disgrace. The day after a stabbing of children in Ireland, NOT ONE PAPER HAD IT ON THEIR FRONT COVER. We will not forget."

Author Sean Parnell: "You ridiculous clown. She was kidnapped & taken hostage by Hamas. This terrorist sympathizer is the Prime Minister of Ireland. So tired of lunatics like this. Their inability to speak with moral clarity about real life evil is a danger to all of us."

Women's advocate Riley Gaines: "To the prime minister of Ireland, being KIDNAPPED by a terrorist organization is just part of a big game of hide and seek. Community notes prevail again."

Journalist Rita Panahi: "Lost, found & returned? She’s not a pair of sunglasses accidentally left behind…she was kidnapped by the Islamist terrorists of Hamas, you quisling clown."

On Sunday afternoon – following the bashing he received online – Varadkar released his "full statement" of the release of Emily Hand.

A little girl was snatched from her home and held captive for almost seven weeks. She spent her ninth birthday as a hostage. We hope she will soon heal and recover from the traumatic experience in the loving embrace of her family.

For her family, these seven weeks have been a slow and cruel torture. We all recall the initial response from her father Tom Hand - the painful grief mixed with relief with the mistaken belief that his daughter had not been taken hostage, which turned into an ember of hope when it was discovered she was still alive. Throughout all these different emotions his love has been constant.

Tom and Emily's half-sister Natali turned that ember of hope into a flame by channeling their sorrow and campaigning tirelessly for Emily's release. They traveled across Europe to keep her plight in the public eye. When I met Tom and Natali in Dublin, their pain was etched on their faces, but so was their courage and determination to ensure that Emily would be freed. I shared their grief and was inspired by their example.

Irish people everywhere share in the relief of Emily's family. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the hostages in Gaza, but we followed particularly closely the fate of Emily, a dual Irish-Israeli citizen. Since our country first heard that she may still be alive, we have hoped beyond hope that her name would be on one of the lists of hostages to be released.

Emily now returns to her family, but we cannot forget that many more hostages remain in captivity in Gaza. Their fate is unknown, but we hope that like Emily, they will also be allowed to return to their homes and their families. We think of all the families suffering in this troubled region, and we redouble our efforts to work for a permanent ceasefire, and for a just a lasting peace.

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