“I’m back to life,” says the freed British-Israeli hostage

British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari says she is “back to life” in her first comments since being released from captivity in Gaza.

A 28-year-old girl was wounded in the arm and taken from her home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

She was one of the first three hostages freed on Sunday after 471 days in captivity as part of a long-awaited a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In an Instagram post posted after her release, Emily also wrote: “I love, love, love” and thanked God, her family and “the closest friends I have in this world.”

According to a Hebrew translation of the post, she also said she was able to see the reaction to her release on Sunday, saying “it touched my heart.”

At the bottom of the post, Emily includes a hand emoji with two curled fingers. She lost two fingers after being shot in the hand during the capture.

Her release – along with that of Romi Gonen, 24, and Doran Steinbrecher, 31 – was the first of several to come over the next six weeks – if the ceasefire holds. In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released.

The hostage release will continue until a total of 33 hostages are returned and about 1,900 Palestinians are released in exchange.

In March 2024, Emily’s family were informed that she was still alive, but since then no information has been released on her condition.

Her mother, Mandy, who spent that time campaigning for her release, said in a statement that her daughter is doing much better than expected since her release.

She said she was happy that during Emily’s release, “the world got to see her bright and charismatic personality.”

“Yesterday I finally got to hug Emily, which I’ve been dreaming of,” said Mrs Damari.

“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank the many people who played a part in bringing Emily home and supported me and my family.”

She added that “as great as it is to see Emily’s resilience, it’s still early days” and that “now she needs time with her loved ones and doctors as she begins the road to recovery.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the release of the three hostages was “wonderful and long overdue.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that he was both “delighted and happy” and “very emotional” to hear Emily’s words after her release – she has become close to her family throughout their ordeal .

Lammy added that it was important to recognize that hostages were still being held and that British citizens, e.g Provided by Popplewelldied.

Adam Rose, a lawyer representing the families of the hostages, including Emily’s, said she “seemed to radiate joy” but her release would be both “a moment of joy and further torture and anxiety for the families of others hostages who did not leave”. .

Among those still in captivity are others with close ties to Britain. Among them is Eli Sharabiwho was taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks that killed his wife and two daughters.

It is not known if he is alive, 34 of the hostages still being held by Hamas are believed to be dead. His brother Yossi was also taken hostage and later killed in captivity, in what Hamas said was the result of an Israeli airstrike.

The fate of Oded Lifshitz, the 84-year-old father of British and Israeli citizen Sharon Lifshitz, is also still unknown. Her mother Jocheved, long-time wife of Odeda, was released more than a year ago as part of a previous deal to release the hostages.

Describing her feelings as she waits for news about her father, Sharon told the BBC’s Woman’s Hour: “I’m fine. After October 7, we got so used (to) a mixture of joy, absolute horror and pain.”

She said it was “pure joy” to see the three women freed on Sunday, adding that while she knew there was “a lot more heartache” ahead, the moments when the families were reunited were “wonderful”.

Avinatan Orr, whose mother is a British-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival with his girlfriend, Noa Argomani. She was rescued from central Gaza in June 2024 and revealed that they were separated during the abduction.