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video. Up Next. A British-Israeli woman is among the first three hostages to have been handed over to Israeli forces by as part of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Image Credit: Metro [Palestinian Hamas militants hand over hostages kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas]
Emily Damari, 28, Doron Steinbreche, 31, and Romi Gonen, 24, are now in the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces and en route to Israel, after Hamas miltants delivered them to the International Red Cross. Crowds cheered in Tel Aviv as the IDF confirmed that the women, who have spent 15 months in besieged Gaza, are now free.
Image Credit: Metro [Mandatory Credit: Photo by Israel Defense Forces/UPI/Shutterstock (15108141b) (L-R) Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31) were released by Hamas on Sunday, January 19, 2025, as part of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the terrorist group. The women spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on October 7, 2023. Courtesy IDF/UPI Israeli Hostages Returned Home After Spending More Than a Year in Hamas Captivity, Tel Aviv, Israel - 19 Jan 2025]
The three have made it to the Israeli-Gaza border where they are expected to be reunited with their mothers before being taken to a hospital with a helicopter, away from the public. Emily’s mother Mandy thanked ‘everyone who never stopped fighting’ for her daughter and ‘never stopped saying her name.’.
Image Credit: Metro [Emily Damari / Mandy Damari, 63, today revealed the ?nightmare? of life after her 28-year-old British daughter Emily was kidnapped almost a year ago from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Speaking at the official anniversary event commemorating the October 7 massacre in Hyde Park, London, in front of a huge crowd she said: ?It is breaking my heart a little more, day by day. ?Soon there will be nothing left of my heart - or Emily.? Mandy, a nursery school teacher born in Surrey, England has spent the past year travelling around the world meeting officials and lobbying for Emily?s release. Earlier this week [Monday 30th September] she travelled to Downing Street to demand that the UK Government do everything in their power to free the last British hostage still in Gaza. She handed the Prime Minister a note for Emily and asked him to do everything in his power to get the note to her. (note attached) Today [October 6 2024] she stepped up her desperate campaign by giving her first public statement since her daughter was kidnapped. ( speech attached) She said: ?Diplomatic pressure, negotiations, humanitarian efforts?whatever it takes. ?We cannot let another day pass. ?We cannot afford to lose any more lives to this nightmare. We don't need tea and sympathy, we need actions not words.? Emily Damari - a Tottenham Hotspurs fan - has been held by Hamas terrorists for exactly 364 days. She was kidnapped in her own car and taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border During the attack her dog, a golden cockapoo, Choocha, was shot dead by terrorists and Emily was shot in the hand. Emily is currently being held in a Hamas terror tunnel. Emily Cohen ? 07887788933 / emily@sunuva.com or Gail Davidson ? 07957400558 / gail@gaildavidsonpr.co.uk (please no press requests for interviews, cannot be granted at this time)]
She added: ‘While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues.’. The force said in a statement: ‘According to information received from the Red Cross, three Israeli hostages were transferred to the Red Cross and they are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in Gaza.’.
Image Credit: Metro [Apps With More Than One Million Users]
Emily, who has a dual British-Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023, when Hamas massacred 1,200 people. She was shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg, and saw her dog Choocha killed before she was blindfolded and bundled into a car that took her to Gaza.
Image Credit: Metro [Undated family handout photo of British hostage in Gaza Emily Damari with her mother Mandy. The last remaining British hostage in Gaza has been named by Hamas as one of three people set to be released on Sunday. A ceasefire deal, which promised the phased release of hostages as well as a pause in the 15-month Israel-Hamas war, was delayed on Sunday morning and came into force at 9.15am UK time. Hamas has named three hostages it plans to release, including British-Israeli Damari, 28, who has been in captivity for 470 days. Issue date: Sunday January 19, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Israel. Photo credit should read: Family handout/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]
![[Palestinian Hamas militants hand over hostages kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236563997-d734.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Mandatory Credit: Photo by Israel Defense Forces/UPI/Shutterstock (15108141b) (L-R) Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31) were released by Hamas on Sunday, January 19, 2025, as part of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the terrorist group. The women spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on October 7, 2023. Courtesy IDF/UPI Israeli Hostages Returned Home After Spending More Than a Year in Hamas Captivity, Tel Aviv, Israel - 19 Jan 2025]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236582425-1b20.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Emily Damari / Mandy Damari, 63, today revealed the ?nightmare? of life after her 28-year-old British daughter Emily was kidnapped almost a year ago from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Speaking at the official anniversary event commemorating the October 7 massacre in Hyde Park, London, in front of a huge crowd she said: ?It is breaking my heart a little more, day by day. ?Soon there will be nothing left of my heart - or Emily.? Mandy, a nursery school teacher born in Surrey, England has spent the past year travelling around the world meeting officials and lobbying for Emily?s release. Earlier this week [Monday 30th September] she travelled to Downing Street to demand that the UK Government do everything in their power to free the last British hostage still in Gaza. She handed the Prime Minister a note for Emily and asked him to do everything in his power to get the note to her. (note attached) Today [October 6 2024] she stepped up her desperate campaign by giving her first public statement since her daughter was kidnapped. ( speech attached) She said: ?Diplomatic pressure, negotiations, humanitarian efforts?whatever it takes. ?We cannot let another day pass. ?We cannot afford to lose any more lives to this nightmare. We don't need tea and sympathy, we need actions not words.? Emily Damari - a Tottenham Hotspurs fan - has been held by Hamas terrorists for exactly 364 days. She was kidnapped in her own car and taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border During the attack her dog, a golden cockapoo, Choocha, was shot dead by terrorists and Emily was shot in the hand. Emily is currently being held in a Hamas terror tunnel. Emily Cohen ? 07887788933 / emily@sunuva.com or Gail Davidson ? 07957400558 / gail@gaildavidsonpr.co.uk (please no press requests for interviews, cannot be granted at this time)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_224687885-ca67-e1737277215393.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Apps With More Than One Million Users]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
![[Undated family handout photo of British hostage in Gaza Emily Damari with her mother Mandy. The last remaining British hostage in Gaza has been named by Hamas as one of three people set to be released on Sunday. A ceasefire deal, which promised the phased release of hostages as well as a pause in the 15-month Israel-Hamas war, was delayed on Sunday morning and came into force at 9.15am UK time. Hamas has named three hostages it plans to release, including British-Israeli Damari, 28, who has been in captivity for 470 days. Issue date: Sunday January 19, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Israel. Photo credit should read: Family handout/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236524954-425b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
