In a moving phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this morning, released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, together with her mother Mandy, thanked the prime minister and everyone in the UK who assisted in the campaign to bring her home.
The Prime Minister said that he was overjoyed by the “heartwarming” images of Emily reuniting with Mandy, who tirelessly campaigned for her release. Starmer invited Emily to visit 10 Downing Street after she recovers from the 15-month ordeal.
Emily, 28, was kidnapped from her home on October 7th, 2023 by Hamas gunmen who shot her in the hand and leg, as well as killing her pet dog. On the call, Emily and Mandy revealed that she had been held for some time in United Nations facilities belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and denied access to medical treatment.
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An out-of-date bottle of iodine was all that was provided to her over the course of her ordeal, despite having lost two fingers from her left hand on October 7th, and carrying an unhealed gunshot wound in her leg. The pair asked the prime minister to put maximum pressure on Hamas and UNRWA to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to finally have access to the 82 remaining hostages still being held in the territory.
The structure of the deal agreed by Israel and Hamas allows for a gradual release of hostages over several months — some of the hostages are elderly or carrying serious injuries, and may require urgent treatment that has been withheld.
On the call, the Prime Minister enquired about Emily’s condition after her return, to which Mandy replied that she “seems to be doing pretty well psychologically” although she will have a long road ahead of her considering the physical injuries she sustained.
