Freed British Israeli hostage who lost two fingers ‘on road to recovery’ says mother
Share:
Families of three female hostages plead for the ceasefire to continue in their first public comments since the dramatic release of their loved ones. A British-Israeli hostage is “in high spirits and on the road to recovery,” her mother has said, during the first public comments made by the relatives of the three women freed from captivity in Gaza on Sunday.
![[Mandy Damari and the relatives of three other hostages make first public statements since their release on Sunday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/22/0P4A8130.jpg)
Speaking from Sheba hospital in Tel Aviv where the women are still being evaluated, Mandy Damari said her daughter Emily, 28 was recovering well, despite having lost two fingers on her left hand. She thanked those who helped secure Emily’s release “from the bottom of our hearts” and urged people to “keep on fighting for the remaining 94 hostages.”.
![[British-Israeli hostage Emily was one of the first to be released under the ceasefire deal (Family handout/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/10/0501be6446661cf447d5ecdf176a04c0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NDUyNzg1-2.78736660.jpg)
“There are too many other families waiting to hug their loved ones or bring them back for a proper burial,” she added. Ms Damari spoke alongside Yamit Ashkenazi, sister of released hostage Doron Steinbrecher, who was also seized with Emily from Kibbutz Kafr Aza on 7 October and freed on Sunday.
Yamit said that Doron, 31, a veterinary nurse, was “strong... brave. But the road to rehabilitation is long.”. She read out a message from her sibling Doron, who said: “Go out into the streets. We must carry out all the steps of the deal. Just as I was able to return to my family, everyone should return.”.
Meirav Leshem Gonen, the mother of Romi, 24, the youngest of the three, who was seized from the Nova music festival, echoed the pleas for all three phases of the ceasefire to continue to allow the return of all the hostages. She warned the Israeli government: “The train has left the station; let the train arrive at the final destination.”.
