Former UFC champ calls Prime Minister Leo Varadkar a 'disgrace'
9-year-old Emily Hand embraces her dad after Hamas captivity: video
The IDF released video of Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, 9, running up to her father and embracing him after spending 50 days as a hostage under Hamas.
Former UFC champion Conor McGregor ripped the prime minister of Ireland for "downplaying" the kidnapping and eventual release of an Irish-Israeli child by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.
McGregor called Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar a "disgrace" after he used the terms "lost" and "found" to describe the abduction and release of 9-year-old Emily Hand.
"She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization," the UFC superstar wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "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."
McGregor was referring to Hand, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from her friend, Hila’s, house in Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel on Oct. 7, along with Hila and Hila’s mother.
4-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN GIRL AMONG 17 HOSTAGES RELEASED BY HAMAS
Conor McGregor called Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar a "disgrace." (Brian Lawless / PA Images via Getty Images / File)
Varadkar had posted on social media after Emily Hand was reunited with her father, who initially believed she had been killed in the Hamas attack.
"This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family," the prime minister wrote. "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."
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,… https://t.co/YKyviZDLfW
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 26, 2023
X flagged the prime minister’s post for context, writing, "Emily Hand was kidnapped by Hamas Terrorists on October the 7th. The use of the term lost is inappropriate and fails to highlight that she was released as part of a hostage deal."
Irish PM Leo Varadkar used the words "lost" and "found" to describe the kidnapping and eventual release of a 9-year-old Irish-Israeli girl. (Gráinne Ní Aodha / PA via AP)
Hamas captured some 240 civilians from Israel and brought them back to Gaza as captives during the terror organization's bloody incursion last month.
McGregor’s criticism of Varadkar comes just days after he blasted Irish leaders over their handling of a stabbing incident in Dublin that left three children injured last week.
