Emily Damari was shot in the hand by Hamas terrorists who stormed her home and kidnapped her into Gaza in Palestine, amid the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust
Emily Damari has been held hostage in GazaA British mum has repeated the same heartbreaking mantra in each of the 467 days her daughter has been held hostage in Gaza.
Mandy Damari, 63, says: “Keep strong, keep alive – you are going to be OK” every morning as if she is speaking to charismatic Emily in the same room. Yet, her daughter is about 3,000 miles away from the UK – living in filth and forced to use a bucket as a toilet after being kidnapped on October 7, 2023.
But now Emily, the only living British citizen held in the Strip, could be home in days after a ceasefire was finally reached in Gaza this week. Her mum, who has travelled to the ends of the earth, meeting international powerbrokers, to fight for her daughter’s return, expressed her joy and relief on Thursday.
She said: “A deal has been signed. I have more hope now than I’ve had in the last 15 months. It would be the most wonderful feeling in the world if she’s coming back, the most wonderful feeling… It’s a nightmare, living a life like this…What she’s feeling there – who knows. It must be ten times worse for her than it is for me.”
Mrs Damari, who is a nursery teacher, this week returned to her daughter’s abandoned home in Kfar Aza, Isreal, where Hamas terrorists attacked Emily’s home, shot her in the hand, murdered her friends, killed her pet dog Choocha, and kidnapped her in October 2023. Attempts to reach a ceasefire deal have failed in the 18 months since the Hamas terror attack.
Mandy Damari has spoken to the media about her fight in recent months ( Image:
Getty Images) Although Israel accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the deal, which delayed a vote on the plan in the Israeli parliament, it was clinched and is expected to be implemented this Sunday – with Mrs Damari’s daughter reportedly on the list of those first to be freed. Mum-of-four Mrs Damari, who was born in Surrey, will finally get that hug she has dreamt of for nearly 500 torturous days.
“My nightmare is still going on until I see Emily and all the other 98 hostages back in Israel with their families. I won’t believe it until I see and feel it for myself. We have to get humanitarian aid into them to keep them alive until they are returned to their homes,” added Mrs Damari.
She told the Daily Mail it was “very strange” to return to her daughter’s home but expressed her gratitude at the support the British public has given her family. Emily is a huge Tottenham Hotspur fan and Spurs supporters have chanted at matches: “She’s one of our own – bring Emily home” in a nod to the woman.