The mother of a British-Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas has called on the UK to help secure her release.
Mandy Damari said her 28-year-old daughter Emily was “still in hell” a year on from being taken from her apartment in Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza.
Her appeal was backed on Monday by Orly Goldschmidt, a spokeswoman for Israel‘s UK embassy, who told Sky News that Emily was “still in the dungeon of Hamas”.
She added: “We are asking for the international support, for the British support, to put pressure on Hamas to release her and the other 100 hostages.”
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It comes as Israel on Monday marks the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks, when 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas fighters, according to Israeli officials.
Since then, more than 41,000 people in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Speaking publicly about her daughter for the first time, Ms Damari told a rally in Hyde Park on Sunday that she feared her plight had been “forgotten”.
She said: “One year has passed and she is still in hell. On the morning of 7 October, Emily was in her own apartment on Kfar Aza, our peaceful kibbutz, but that day Hamas turned our home into a place of terror.
“Sixty-four of our neighbours – men, women, children and elderly – were sadistically murdered, 19 were kidnapped, 12 women were eventually released, two of our hostages were killed in friendly fire while trying to escape and five are still held in Gaza, including my Emily.
“My beautiful, charismatic daughter, with the cheeky smile, was shot and taken by force from her home.
“Her beloved dog Choocha, who was with her, was killed with a gunshot to the neck.”
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What happened on 7 October 2023
Emily’s current whereabouts are unknown but some of the more than 100 hostages who were freed last November, as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, reported at the time that she was still alive.
Ms Damari told the rally: “They all told me about her bravery and courage and even her laughter and the way she helped hold everyone together even in the worst times.”
She added: “I ask of you all, and also the British government, do not let my daughter Emily Damari or the other innocent people held hostage continue to be tortured or even murdered.
“I implore those in power here to use every ounce of influence they have to advocate for the release of all the hostages, and to secure the release of their UK citizen.”
Emily Damari’s dog Choocha was said to have been shot dead when she was taken hostage
The 63-year-old also said her daughter, who has dual nationality, “adores” coming to visit the UK, which she described as her “second home across the sea”.
She described her personality as including a “British sense of humour with a dash of Israeli chutzpah thrown in for good measure”, and said she is a big fan of football team Tottenham Hotspur and British music stars such as Ed Sheeran.
Read more:
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
What Gaza has lost in year of war
Displaced children caught up in Lebanon violence
Ms Damari went to Downing Street last Monday to demand that the government do “everything in its power” to free Emily, and gave Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer a letter for him to pass on to her daughter if possible.
It said: “If it [the note] gets to you in Gaza, know that we all love you and miss you and are sick with worry about what is happening to you every day and we are praying and meeting whoever we can to get you back home.”
