Emily Damari is the only British-Israeli citizen still being held by Hamas in Gaza, and is expected to be freed on Sunday during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Ms Damari, now 28, was shot and abducted on Oct 7 2023 in the Kfar Aza kibbutz after Hamas gunmen stormed her home. She was taken along with 37 other residents.
Mandy Damari, her British mother, said that her daughter had been “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza”.
Some 98 hostages are still in captivity in Gaza. Under the new ceasefire and release deal, 33 will be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel jails over six weeks.
Ms Damari is one of the three hostages expected to be released on Sunday – more small groups will continue to be freed at regular intervals over the following six weeks.
Ms Damari was born in Israel in 1996 to her British mother and Israeli father, and raised with three older brothers.
Her mother said Ms Damari was naughty at school, but well-loved by her teachers. She played football until she was 12, and became an avid Tottenham Hotspur fan.
Since her capture, Spurs fans have begun the chant: “She’s one of our own, Emily Damari, bring Emily home.” Hours after the ceasefire announcement, Arsenal and Spurs fans united in a call for her release.
Mrs Damari has said her daughter loves visiting the UK to see her grandparents, go shopping, and visit pubs, saying it is her “second home across the sea”.
Mrs Damari has spent months campaigning and meeting political leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, to push for the release of her daughter. Ms Damari’s father has early onset Alzheimer’s disease, and does not know his daughter is missing.
Before the attack, Mrs Damari lived a two-minute walk from her daughter’s home, which was in the youth quarter in the Kfar Aza kibbutz.
Speaking about October 7, she told The Telegraph in December: “Emily messaged me to say, ‘Don’t go out of the safe room, Mum.’ I said I needed the loo because I hadn’t been to the bathroom and she was like, ‘Mum, this is serious, Don’t leave the safe room, don’t leave it!’”
The last message she received from her daughter was a small heart emoji.
Witnesses said that Ms Damari, along with the brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, were bundled into her car and driven to Gaza, where they were held captive in locations including a tunnel 20m (65ft) underground. The Berman brothers are also thought to remain in captivity.
Hostages who were released in the November 2023 truce said afterwards that Ms Damari had shown “bravery and courage” during her capture, singing “it’s a great morning” every day.
Speaking to the press about the ceasefire agreement, Mrs Damari has said “it would be the most wonderful feeling in the world if she’s coming back, the most wonderful feeling”. But she added: “I won’t believe it until I see and feel it for myself.”
