Released hostage Emily Damari underwent a series of operations on Thursday to correct complications from wounds she sustained on October 7, 2023, when she was shot and taken hostage to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
Damari, 29, was released from captivity on January 19 and immediately drew attention to her hand, now missing two fingers, which she raised in a symbol of victory.
Mandy Damari, Emily’s mother, said her daughter was “sewn up like a pin cushion” by Hamas, leaving Emily in significant pain in both her hand and leg.
Despite the nature of her wounds and the risk of infection, Damari’s Hamas captors did not provide any ongoing medical care other than an expired bottle of iodine.
“It is nothing short of a miracle that she did not contract a life-threatening infection,” said Mandy Damari, who spent months petitioning world leaders and human rights groups to prioritize humanitarian aid and medical assistance for the hostages.
Emily Damari said in a statement following the surgery that her hand will never fully recover, yet she wasn’t experiencing the same kind of intense pain she had for a year and a half in captivity.
The former hostage said the nerves of her hand were sewn together in surgery at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, leaving an open, festering wound that did not heal for four months because of the conditions of the tunnels, where she was kept for long periods. The wound eventually became a large scar left between her three remaining fingers.
Damari said she hopes to use her hand more effectively after this latest operation, with the help of physiotherapy.
“I have fully embraced my hand, my pain, and my scars,” said Damari before her surgery. “To me, they represent freedom, hope and strength.”
Damari, a British-Israeli citizen, was taken hostage from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.
She was taken captive with Gali Berman, a close friend from the kibbutz, who rushed to her home in the kibbutz’s young people’s neighborhood because she was by herself during the attack, and the two were kidnapped together.
Berman’s twin brother, Ziv Berman, was also kidnapped. Both brothers are still captive in Gaza.
During Damari’s statement, she thanked US President Donald Trump for his help in securing the deal that brought her home and asked for his help to bring home Gali and Ziv Berman and all the remaining hostages.
Damari has been in touch with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and plans to visit his residence on her next trip to Britain.
“After I recover from my surgeries, and after the remaining hostages are all released, I will be so excited to come back to Britain,” said Damari. “I have so many people that I want to thank personally for helping me get my life back.”
The lifelong Tottenham Hotspur soccer fan has also been inundated with offers of game tickets from fellow fans, many of whom sang a specially composed chant, “Bring Emily Home,” during Spurs matches as part of the campaign for her release.
