Freed British hostage Emily Damari has said she is the “happiest person in the world ” after she was released by Hamas as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
The 28-year-old was captured during the terror group’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023 and her family has described the battle for her release as “ongoing torture”.
In an Instagram post on Monday morning Ms Damari, who lost two fingers in Hamas’s assault, thanked her friends and family for their support.
“Love, love, love,” she wrote. “I have returned to my beloved life.”
She added: “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m the happiest in the world just to be.”
Emily Damari’s first social post after her release (YNet) pic.twitter.com/zgK6cSgPLr
— David Hazony (@davidhazony) January 20, 2025
Ms Damari’s mother, Mandy, who grew up in Beckenham, south-east London, fiercely campaigned for her daughter’s freedom.
Emily was finally released on Sunday alongside fellow hostages Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.
In a statement released on Monday her mother said: “Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of.
“From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank the many people who have played a role in bringing Emily home and given their support to me and my family. As I said over the course of the campaign, you are all Emily’s family.
“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.”
All three women were assessed at Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, with doctors reporting that they were in stable condition and will be monitored for a few days.
Their release followed a pause in fighting that began at 9:15 am GMT on Sunday, nearly three hours later than planned.
The delay was caused by Hamas failing to provide Israel with the required list of captives, which led to Israeli bombardments that killed at least 26 Palestinians. The announcement of their release broke a deadlock that had threatened to derail the hostage-prisoner exchange.
Ms Damari’s family lawyer, Adam Rose, said it was "both a remarkable time and a troubling time".
"It's incredibly challenging what they've gone through,” he told LBC.
“We know from hostages who've been released in earlier rounds of ceasefires in November 2023 that some of them just picked themselves up and got on with lives, and some of them have been really deeply scarred by what they experienced.”
Asked how confident he was that the ceasefire would hold, Mr Rose said: "We've got three other clients who are very closely connected to the UK, and two of those are on this list, and one isn't. So we're operating on the basis that the other two will come out who are on the list.
"We have to hope that this works, that every week, another three or four hostages will come out.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he is "pleased and delighted" that British-Israeli Ms Damari has been released.
"Let me just first, obviously say how pleased and delighted I am that Emily Damari has emerged," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"And I say that because I grew very close to her family, and I think the whole of the country will be delighted that she is free, but recognising there are still 95 hostages being held, and there are British nationals like Nadav Popplewell who lost their life."
Mr Lammy said a social media post by Ms Damari after her release made him "very emotional". "I have a yellow flower.
“It's a plastic flower that her mother gave me that's in my office that I said I would keep in my office until she was freed.
“I will move it from my office today and take it home. So that's... it's incredibly touching," he said.
On Sunday her release was also welcomed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as “wonderful and long-overdue news after months of agony”.
