Who is Emily Damari and how was she captured? British-Israeli woman to be freed from Hamas at last

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Who is Emily Damari and how was she captured? British-Israeli woman to be freed from Hamas at last
Author: William Mata
Published: Jan, 19 2025 16:35

A British-Israeli woman is set to be released on Sunday having spent the past 15 months as a Hamas hostage. Emily Damari, 28, was abducted from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel on October 7, 2023, but is now set to return to her family as part of a ceasefire negotiation deal.

Image Credit: The Standard

She will be released alongside Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, after Hamas handed their names to deal mediators on Sunday. Their capture was at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war which has been raging in earnest for 15 months. Here is all we know about Emily Damari.

Image Credit: The Standard

Emily Damari is the youngest of four siblings and was born and raised in Israel but has duel British citizenship as her mother Mandy was born in Addington in Surrey. She visited Britain at least once per year and referred to it as her “second home,” being particularly fond of north London as she is a big fan of Tottenham Hotspur.

 [Emily Damari: Sole British hostage named by Hamas as one of three to be released]
Image Credit: The Standard [Emily Damari: Sole British hostage named by Hamas as one of three to be released]

In her community she is well known for serving up a barbecue to neighbours and also keeps close family ties, bearing a tattoo that reads “my mum is always right”. Emily Damari was one of the 251 people that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip during their attack on October 7.

 [Last remaining British hostage named by Hamas as one of three set to be released]
Image Credit: The Standard [Last remaining British hostage named by Hamas as one of three set to be released]

She was 27 at the time but has since turned 28. Ms Damari’s mother Mandy said: “On the morning of 7 October, Emily was in her own apartment on Kfar Aza, our peaceful kibbutz, but that day Hamas turned our home into a place of terror.”. Hamas entered Ms Damari’s home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and took her as well as 64 of her neighbours.

 [Hostages’ families ‘filled with trepidation’ ahead of ceasefire deal]
Image Credit: The Standard [Hostages’ families ‘filled with trepidation’ ahead of ceasefire deal]

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