Family of Anglo-Israeli hostage announces her release

It has been 471 days since Emily Damari was shot in the hand and dragged to Gaza from her home in southern Israel.

The British-Israeli national was also injured by shrapnel and had her dog Choocha shot dead on October 7.

She was named by Hamas as one of the first hostages it plans to release under the long-awaited deal. ceasefire agreement concluded with Israel.

After learning that Emily was among the first hostages to be freed, Emily Cohen, representing the Damari family, said it had been a “tortuous 471 days but a particularly torturous 24 hours.”

“All Emily’s mother Mandy wants to do is hug Emily. But she won’t believe it until she sees it,” Ms Cohen said.

She added: “Until she came out and Mandy could actually see that she came out. It didn’t happen until it happened. It wasn’t done until it is not done. And there is a long way to go.

“They have no idea of ​​the state they are in and there are other hostages who need to be released and who need humanitarian assistance to stay alive. The road ahead is very long. “

For Mandy Damari, the last 15 months have been excruciating.

On Friday, Ms. Damari lit Shabbat candles to mark the start of the Jewish Sabbath.

Behind the candles is a photo of his daughter with a British flag next to the photo.

Her prayers: May this be the last Shabbat that Emily is held hostage.

Across the world, especially in British homes, candles were lit on a Friday evening with photos of Emily or other hostages beside them and prayers for her release.

In an interview with BBC News last month, Ms Damari explained how other hostages released in November 2023 had seen Emily, 28.

“Some of them had met her in captivity. One family at the beginning and one family at the end. And they told me that basically she was fine, except for the gunshot wounds. She was always sane and she was Emily,” she said.

“She was really brave there and she thought she was going to come home. She thought she was going to be released during this ceasefire, because women were supposed to be released after that. And someone one said: ‘Do you want me to do it?’ get something for you? And she said ‘No, no, I’ll come back tomorrow.’ And then she wasn’t.”

Her family learned in March 2024 that she was still alive, but received no information about her condition. Until Sunday, there was nothing.

In December, Ms Damari told the BBC how concerned she was about the conditions her daughter was facing.

“She could be hungry, dehydrated or have asthma because you can’t breathe in the tunnels,” she said.

“If she is alone, even if no one touches her, she suffers mental and physical torture all the time, simply from being in a terrible tunnel of terror, and I worry every day, I worries me every second because in the next Secondly, she could be murdered.

Ms. Damari was dignified and determined. She never wanted to stand out, but traveled the world, attended rallies and met with politicians to campaign for her daughter’s release.

At first, Ms. Damari did not speak publicly about her daughter because she said she trusted governments and negotiators to get her released.

But then she felt frustrated by the British government and the international community’s inability to secure a quicker release for her daughter, to provide her with humanitarian aid, or to be able to verify whether her daughter was still in custody. life.

The mother and daughter were in their separate homes on Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas gunmen attacked on the morning of October 7, 2023.

While Mandy was hiding in the safe, she was saved when a bullet hit the handle, preventing the attackers from opening the door.

Meanwhile, Emily was taken to Gaza.

Emily has strong links to the UK. She is a Tottenham Hotspur fan and would often travel to Britain to see her loved ones, attend concerts, go shopping and visit the pub here.

Fans at Spurs games released yellow balloons and chanted for his release.

She also missed some precious moments. Upon her release, Emily will discover that her British grandfather, whom she visited regularly, died while she was in captivity.

Ms Damari said: “My husband has Alzheimer’s and she always makes sure I’m okay and he’s okay and she visits him in his care home. She is the core of our family and the core is missing. It’s like a piece of my heart isn’t there.”

The last time Mandy Damari heard from her daughter was October 7.

As their kibbutz was under attack, Emily sent a text message containing a heart emoji.

The Damari family now hopes that his heart will heal.

They will still mourn the many murdered neighbors and friends and demand that all hostages be released.

But they hope to achieve this with the return of Emily, after a brutal separation.

They just want her to come home.

“I love her to the moon and back, she’s a special person,” Ms Damari said.

“It sounds like a cliché, but she’s the best girl I could hope for.”