On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the taoiseach needed “a reality check”.
“Emily Hand was not ‘lost’,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“She was kidnapped by a terror organisation worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother.”
But speaking to Irish broadcaster RTÉ Mr Varadkar said “the vast majority of people will understand” what he meant.
A third group of hostages held in Gaza have now been released as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israel’s military began attacking Gaza after Hamas fighters crossed the border on 7 October, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking more than 200 hostages.
The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,500 people have been killed in Gaza – more than a third of them children – since Israel began its retaliatory action.
Under the terms of the Israel-Hamas temporary truce, a total of 50 hostages will be released during a four-day pause in fighting which began on 24 November at 07:00 (05:00 GMT).
Hamas said 150 Palestinian women and teenagers will be released from Israeli jails under the deal and hundreds of lorries of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and fuel will be allowed into Gaza.
