British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says her scars show ‘freedom’ after ‘Dr Hamas’ sewed her nerves together
2 March 2025, 20:02 | Updated: 3 March 2025, 09:30
An Israeli hostage has said her scars from October 7 attack represent "freedom, hope and strength.
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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.
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."
Ms Damari said she was held for 471 days with severe injuries and little medical treatment.
It comes as Israel has said it is stopping all supplies coming into Gaza over disagreements with Hamas regarding the extension of the ceasefire and hostage releases.
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.
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.
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.
Some 59 hostages are still being held captive in Gaza, at least 35 of whom have been confirmed dead.
Israel said it was halting the flow of supplies because Hamas had not agreed to a US proposal to extend the current phase of the deal.
Hamas said the move was "cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the [ceasefire] agreement.”
A spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu said: “With the end of Phase 1 of the hostage deal and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the... outline for continuing talks – to which Israel agreed – Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease.”
“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages."
Israel is said to believe that Gaza has enough supplies to last several months, according to Kan, an Israeli broadcaster.
Mr Netanyahu's office threatened "further consequences" if Hamas did not agree to the ceasefire proposal. Hamas has not yet responded.
The news comes hours after Israel it would adopt the US proposal for an extension to the first phase of the ceasefire.
The plan, proposed by US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, would involve a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover.
In effect, this would extend the first phase of the current ceasefire, which is due to expire on Saturday.
In return, Israel wants Hamas to release "half of the living and deceased hostages" according to a statement from Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office reported by Reuters.
