Freed British hostage Emily Damari has broken her silence to say she is the ‘happiest person in the world’ since being freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
‘Love, love, love. Thank God. Thank you to my family, to Orali, to the best friends I have in this world,’ she said in a post on Instagram.
‘I returned to my beloved life.
‘I only managed to see a glimpse of everything and you broke my heart with excitement. Thank you thank you the happiest person in the world just to be.’
The 28-year-old was among three hostages released yesterday as part of a wider ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas after months of negotiation.
At the end of her post she added a ‘rock on’ emoji, symbolising the two fingers she lost when she was shot by Hamas during their October 7 assault.
Emily was shot in the hand and leg when she was snatched from her home in southern Israel during Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Emily Damari with her mother in Shefayim, Israel after the hostage release on Sunday
The 28-year-old was shot in the hand and leg when she was snatched from her home in southern Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Emily Damari pictured with her mother in Israel after her release on Sunday
The British-Israeli was held for 471 days as one of 251 hostages taken into the Palestinian enclave.
Some 94 taken on October 7 remained in Gaza before Sunday’s ceasefire came into effect, as well as a further four believed to have been taken in 2014, per Israel.
A statement from Mandy Damari, her mother, shared today thanked the ‘many people’ who she said have ‘played a role in bringing Emily home’ and given their support.
‘Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of,’ she said.
‘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.
‘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. As you will have seen yesterday, Emily lost two of the fingers on her left hand.
‘She now needs time with her loved ones and her doctors as she begins her road to recovery.’
Some 33 hostages are set to be released under the terms of the first phase of the three-part ceasefire agreement.
But just three hostages were released on the first day of the ceasefire, with four more to be returned on the seventh.
Three hostages will then be released each week for a period of four weeks. Finally, 14 hostages will be returned on the sixth week of phase one.
Emily Damari ahead of her release, pictured with a document bearing the logo of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, certifying the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal
Hamas explained over the weekend that the mechanism for releasing Israeli captives will ‘depend on the number of Palestinian detainees Israel agrees to release’.
Emily was in her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, two miles from the border with Gaza, when Hamas and affiliated groups stormed into Israel, her family said.
Gunmen entered the house and shot her dog dead. Emily was shot and left with ‘severe injuries’ before being blindfolded and kidnapped in the back of her own car.
She was then driven into Gaza and kept in captivity for more than a year.
Emily is the youngest of four siblings.
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