Freed British hostage Emily Damari has revealed how she has “returned to life” just hours after being released from her Gaza kidnap hell.
The brave 28 year-old was one of three hostages set free by Hamas in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners after 471 days in captivity in Gaza. Many seized on October 7 2023 have endured 15 months of war, explosions and most were held in tunnels shaking with every bomb and blast.
Shortly after being set free Emily shared her jubilation, thanking her family for campaigning hard for her to be released. And Damari – who lost two fingers during Hamas’ October attack – said: “Thank you thank you thank you- I’m the happiest in the world.”
But she added: “My heart is broken with emotions.” Emily, 28, signed off with a “rock on” emoji on Instagram – possibly a reference to her two lost fingers. She was shot in the hand as she was snatched from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the morning of Hamas’s attack.
On Monday, her mother, Mandy Damari praised her daughter’s resilience, adding: “From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank the many people who have played a role in bringing Emily home and given their support to me and my family. “I am relieved to report that, after her release, Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated.
“I am also happy that during her release the world was given a glimpse of her feisty and charismatic personality. In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world, she has her life back.” But she demanded the other 94 hostages be released, adding: “In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain.
“The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families. “As wonderful as it is to see Emily’s resilience, these are still early days.” Two other hostages, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were also freed and the trio are now in Israel.
Leshem Gonen, Romi’s mother, has emerged as one of the loudest voices advocating for the return of the hostages. She said: “We are in an alternate reality in these hours, shutting out the outside world, a time in which there is nothing but family.
“It will take me, us, a moment to breathe her in, and to believe this reality that we have brought about together.” All three were assessed at the Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Aviv, with doctors reporting that they are in a stable condition.
Some 250 were kidnapped by Hamas in the October 7 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked war in Gaza, costing almost 47,000 Palestinian lives. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the Middle East is undergoing a “profound transformation.”
On Gaza, he urged Israel and Hamas to ensure that their newly agreed deal leads to a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages. Hostages released in November described Ms Damari as a leader who kept up the spirits of her fellow captives.
Thousands of Gazans are gradually returning to their homes, many of them reduced to a pile of rubble. Mohamed Abu al-Kheir, a Palestinian man who now shelters in a tent in the city of Khan Younis, said: “We found destruction, destruction.
“There is nothing to live in. There is no furniture or anything.” Swatches of Rafah, close to Egypt, is turned into rubble. People were seen searching the remains of their homes. Others searched two military vehicles that Israeli forces left behind when they withdrew from the area.
Local man Mahmoud Khamis said: “Who wants to live in such destruction? No one will come to live here.’ At 1am local time on Monday morning Red Cross buses carrying 90- Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank, to be greeted by crowds of thousands. Those freed included 69 women and 21 teenage boys, some as young as 12, from the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Bushra al-Tawil, a Palestinian journalist jailed in Israel in March 2024, was among the prisoners released on Monday. She was taken from another Israeli prison ahead of release. In the second prison, she was grouped with other Palestinians awaiting release.
She said: “The wait was extremely hard. But thank God, we were certain that at any moment we would be released.” Tawil said her father, who is also in an Israeli jail, will be released soon, too. She added: “I was worried about him. He is still a prisoner, but I just received good news that he will be released as part of this deal.”
Amanda Abu Sharkh, 23, from Ramallah, was among the crowd of well-wishers. She said:“We came here to witness it and feel the emotions, just like the families of the prisoners who are being released today. “All the prisoners being released today feel like family to us. “They are part of us, even if they’re not blood relatives.”
Ninety Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children, have been released from Israeli prisoners into the West Bank. Around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Gaza are due for release in phase one in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages, including the three women freed. One of the highest profile is Zakaria Zubaidi, the former leader of the armed group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The 49-year-old has served time in both Israeli and Palestinian jails for multiple offences, including murder and carried out a shooting attack in 2002 in which six Israelis were killed. He was also in the news in 2021, when he tunnelled out of an Israeli prison before being recaptured after five days.
