Mum of British hostage held by Hamas speaks in London

The mother of Emily Damari, a British national taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th in Israel, has spoken at a press conference in London.

There has been no news about Emily’s wellbeing in the fourteen months since she was taken from her home in Israel, during the morning of October 7.

Emily’s mother, Mandy has been visiting London this week, meeting with key politicians.

Today she said dehumanising people instead of empathising 'brings only more conflict and pain'.

Mandy Damari says supporting her daughter 'does not make you pro-one side or the other' - as she continues to put pressure on politicians, to call for her release.

28-year-old Emily was taken last October.

She’s spoken to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, calling on them to do more to secure the release of her daughter.

Mandy’s also meeting the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thanias, as part of his state visit to the UK, as well as a number of other influential MPs and members of the Foreign Office.

Mandy is hoping these meetings will help in her mission to bring her daughter, a British National, home.

She also plans to demand they pioneer an international initiative to secure humanitarian aid for the hostages, with the goal of keeping them alive and their condition stable until they are finally released, including a welfare visit, and access to real food and medicine. However, she says a simple proof of life would be a starting point.

Mandy says: “Emily is a British citizen like you and I. No human being of any nationality should experience what Emily, and the other 100 hostages have been through this past year. We know that Hamas has tortured and sexually assaulted the hostages. Time is running out for them all – they need to come home now!”

You can hear the latest news on Kerrang! Radio.