BBCThe mother of the only British-Israeli hostage held by Hamas has described her growing fears for her daughter’s life after more than 400 days in captivity.
Emily Damari, 28, was taken by Hamas from her home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“I fear she is dead,” her mother Mandy told the BBC in her first television interview. “And if she’s not dead, she’s not getting enough food to eat, she’s not able to wash herself, drink water, she might be sick.”
“She’s suffering from gunshot wounds to her hand and leg… I worry every day, I worry every second, because in the next second she could be murdered just because she’s there.”
Mandy Damari, who was born in Surrey, called on the UK government to do more to ensure humanitarian supplies go to the hostages while negotiations continue for their release.
She also welcomed US President Donald Trump’s statement that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released before he takes office in January, saying: “It made me a bit more optimistic”.
Hamas gunmen shot Emily and killed her dog when they attacked Kibbutz Kfar Aza almost 14 months ago.
Mandy also hid when Hamas stormed her home and was only saved when one of the bullets jammed the lock to the room she was hiding in.
About 1,200 people were killed that day, while Emily and 250 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months working on a deal to secure the release of the 97 remaining hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza. But the negotiations have stalled, with Hamas and Israel blaming each other for the stalemate.
Without mentioning Hamas or Gaza directly, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “Everyone talks about the hostages being held so violently, inhumanely and against the will of the entire world in the Middle East – but it’s all talk. , and no action!”
“If the hostages are not released by January 20, 2025, the date I proudly take office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East and for those responsible for these atrocities against humanity,” he warned he.
Ms Damari said the post “gave me some hope that maybe someone really cares about what’s going on there”.
“Somebody has to do something and take strong action to get them released. And that is the strongest thing I have heard anyone say in a long time.”
She said she hoped Trump would do everything in his power to get her daughter and the other hostages released.
Mandy DamariMrs Damari – who describes her daughter as a Spurs football fan who loves coming to the UK to visit family, shop and visit pubs – is disappointed with the UK government.
She is currently in the UK meeting political leaders including the Prime Minister.
But she described the government’s recent decision to support a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages. The draft called for their release, but it was vetoed by the United States, which said it did not make it a condition for a ceasefire.
“I really felt that they stabbed me in the heart. There was no prerequisite for releasing the hostages… It was basically signing a death warrant on her [Emily]because if there is a ceasefire without the release of the hostages, the hostages will stay there forever,” Ms. Damari said.
She now wants them to do more.
“I really need the UK government if they are not able to get her released immediately at least to get her humanitarian help or a sign of life and let me know what happens with that because I’m desperate for a sign of life.”
She added: “We keep talking about humanitarian aid to Gaza, but I don’t hear about humanitarian aid for the hostages who are being held in abhorrent conditions. I’m desperate to get humanitarian aid into her, for someone to see her. It is a human right to allow people to see what happens to her.”
Ms. Damari initially did not speak publicly about her daughter because she trusted the governments and negotiators to secure her release. But now she wants the British public to understand that a dual national is being detained.
“She’s the only British hostage being held… and I want people to help me get her out, to be her voice because she can’t shout for herself. She has no voice.”
More than 44,500 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in response to the Oct. 7 attack, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.