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Conor McGregor blasts Irish PM for saying young Irish Israeli hostage was ‘lost’

McGregor called the Prime Minister a ‘disgrace’ for ‘downplaying horrific acts that happen to children.’

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor slammed Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar for comments he made on social media about a hostage taken by the Hamas terrorist organization who returned to her family in Israel after 50 days in captivity.

Varadkar reacted to the news of the release of Irish-Israeli girl Emily Hand, who turned nine years old while in captivity. He tweeted: “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.”

McGregor took offense to the wording in Varadkar’s post and called him out on X/Twitter, lambasting the prime minister as “a disgrace.”

“She was abducted by an evil terrorist organization,” wrote the professional mixed martial artist and five-time world champion, who was born in Dublin. “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.”

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Last week, a man went on a stabbing spree in Dublin, outside a school, injuring two adults and three children. Violence broke out in the Irish capital following rumors that the perpetrator was a foreign national, although police have yet to reveal the nationality of the suspect.

Hand was one of 17 Hamas hostages who was freed from Gaza on Saturday as part of a ceasefire agreement between the Jewish state and Hamas terrorists controlling the Palestinian enclave. Hamas kidnapped over 240 people when they infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7 and went on a killing rampage, murdering 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Varadkhar’s post on X about the nine-year-old also elicited backlash from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who summoned Irish Ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness for an official reprimand and accused the prime minister of “trying to legitimize and normalize terror.”