Freed British-Israeli hostage undergoes surgery
Emily Damari, who has links to south east London, says her scars 'show freedom'
Last updated 3rd Mar 2025
A British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas for 15 months said her scars represent "freedom, hope and strength" as she underwent surgery for injuries sustained during the October 7 attacks.
Emily Damari, 28, was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on the morning of Hamas's attack on Israel in 2023 and shot in the hand, blindfolded and forced into her own car with two other friends, her family said previously.
Ms Damari said she was held for 471 days with severe injuries and little medical treatment.
She has now undergone a series of complex operations on her hand and leg to repair damage caused by the attack and her time in captivity.
Speaking from Sheba Medical Centre in Israel before her operations, Ms Damari said: "I have fully embraced my hand, my pain and my scars.
"To me, they represent freedom, hope and strength."
She said her hand will never fully recover and described the "intense pain" she suffered for a year-and-a-half following an operation in Gaza.
'Sewn up like a pin cushion'
Her mother, Mandy Damari, who grew up in Beckenham, south-east London, said that her daughter had been "sewn up like a pin cushion" in Gaza.
She added: "It is nothing short of a miracle that she did not contract a life-threatening infection."
Ms Damari was released on January 19 and was one of the first three hostages to be freed when the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was struck.
Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were also freed.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said her release was "wonderful and long-overdue news", and spoke to Ms Damari and her mother over the phone.
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