Emily Damari
Emily Damari is a British-Israeli former hostage held by Hamas for over 15 months following her abduction during the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. Her captivity and eventual release under a ceasefire deal received extensive international media coverage and became a focal point for advocacy and public campaigns in both the UK and Israel. Her mother, Mandy Damari, led a widely publicized campaign for her release,[1] drawing attention from the British prime minister, sports fans, and the broader public. Damari's ordeal, including the loss of two fingers during the attack and her resilience in captivity, made her a symbol of defiance and survival. Her injured hand gesture became iconic in Israel, appearing on posters, t-shirts, and memes.[2] Following her release, she spoke at public events and rallies for the hostages still in captivity. Damari described her efforts to hide her sexual orientation from her captors. Her case inspired solidarity actions, such as football fans at Tottenham Hotspur matches chanting her name, and raised awareness about the ongoing hostage crisis. BackgroundThe youngest of four siblings, Damari was born and raised in Israel. Damari has dual British citizenship through her mother Mandy, who was born in Addington, London,[1] grew up in Beckenham,[3] and moved to Israel in her twenties.[4] Damari's father is Israeli.[4] Events of October 7, 2023Damari was taken from the safe room of her house on Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas, together with her friends Ziv and Gali Berman. Damari was shot in the leg and hand when she was dragged from her home. She lost two fingers in the attack. Hamas also shot and killed her dog.[2] CaptivityAfter being blindfolded and forced into her own car,[3] Damari was taken to Shifa Hospital, where a doctor sedated her, and she woke up missing two fingers.[5] Damari was held for 40 days with Ziv Berman,[6] then with Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen. They were at times housed in humanitarian shelters designated for displaced Gazans, and were later separated.[7] At times, they received medical help including a bottle of iodine,[8] but they spent significant stretches of time underground without daylight.[7] Damari received care for her wounds from fellow hostage Romi Gonen, who was a veterinary nurse,[7][9] but a scar from an 'open, festering wound' did not heal for months.[8] Damari and Gonen were transferred together dozens of times between various hiding places above and below ground.[7] Gonen said when they were held together with five women, as when they were held with 11 others, Damari "would always eat the least so everyone would have enough food.”[6] Damari said she hid her homosexuality from her Hamas captors, adding that she asked one of them what he would do if he discovered his brother was homosexual, and he responded "I would kill him".[5][6] She said her captors nicknamed her 'John Cena',[10] because she often performed physical exercises to relieve stress,[5] as well as 'Fuduli', Arabic for 'curious', because she asked questions about how they built the tunnels and their funding.[6] She raised morale among her fellow captives in Hamas tunnels, one day organizing a “lice competition" between lice plucked from their heads.[10] Damari said she saw her mother on Israeli television, nine months into captivity.[6] Damari later told the British Prime Minister she was held on UNRWA premises.[11] Damari turned 28 while in captivity.[12] Damari was informed of her imminent release on the day before it happened.[7] ReleaseDamari, Gonen and Steinbrecher were released as part of a truce between Israel and Hamas in January 2025.[13] They were exchanged for 90 Palestinian prisoners.[9] Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Damari's release as "wonderful and long-overdue news".[4] Foreign secretary David Lammy said he had grown close to Damari's family.[3] Post-release activitiesIn May 2025, Damari visited the UK for the first time since her release in January. She thanked her supporters at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium who chanted her name.[2] She posed with footballer James Maddison.[2] Damari expressed joy at her visit to the UK, along with some sadness for the death of her British grandfather while she was held by Hamas.[2] She noted that Ziv and Gali Berman remained in captivity along with 59 other hostages, including about 21 thought to be alive.[2] Damari publicly objected to the awarding of a Pulitzer Prize to a Gaza poet who said the hostages should not be called hostages.[14][15] On 19 June, the IDF announced that it killed Muhammad Nasser Ali Kanita, the senior Hamas militant who participated in the 7 October attacks and held Damari in his house at the beginning of the war.[16] References
External links |
||||||||||||||
Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia
