A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months says she was detained for some time at United Nations facilities.
During a phone call with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Damari – who was released earlier this month – said she was held at sites belonging to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).
She also said she was denied medical treatment during her captivity, despite being shot in the hand and leg.
In a statement, Unrwa said claims that hostages had been held on UN premises were “very serious” and that it had repeatedly called for independent investigations into claims Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, were misusing the facilities.
Israel has repeatedly accused personnel from Unrwa of being involved in the 7 October attacks and said that its buildings in Gaza were used by Hamas. The Israeli government plans to ban the organisation from operating.
During the call with Downing Street, Ms Damari said that while being held at an Unrwa facility, her captors only provided her with an out-of-date bottle of iodine to treat gunshot wounds in her leg and her left hand, on which she lost two fingers.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, Unrwa’s director of communications Juliette Touma was asked about Ms Damari’s claims. She said: “For many, many months we did not have access to several of our facilities.
“So the vast majority of our buildings were turned into shelters when the war started.
“At some point we had a million people in those shelters.”
Emily Damari and her mother (left) spoke to the UK prime minister over the phone on Friday [BBC/Handout]
A Downing Street spokesperson said they “welcome the fact that Unrwa have said there should be an investigation into the use of their facilities”.
Ms Damari, now 28, also used the call with Sir Keir to thank people in the UK who campaigned for her release.
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas will see the gradual release of hostages being held in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
Three more hostages are set to be released on Saturday, while 183 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be freed.
Some 251 hostages were taken by Hamas when it attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people.
The attack triggered a war which has devastated Gaza. Israel’s 15-month military offensive killed 47,460 Palestinians in the territory, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
