She lived in the area catering to younger, single residents of Kfar Aza, one of several kibbutzim in southern Israel invaded by the group.
BRASÍLIA, DF (FOLHAPRESS) – Emily Damari, 28, one of the three hostages released by Hamas this Sunday (19), lost two fingers on one of her hands the day she was kidnapped and taken to Gaza, on October 7, 2023.
She lived in the area catering to younger, single residents of Kfar Aza, one of several kibbutzim in southern Israel raided by Hamas that day.
Emily’s mother, Mandy Damari, told Haaretz newspaper that her daughter was shot in the hand and leg by the terrorists. They also allegedly killed her dog before kidnapping her.
Mother and daughter appear hugging in a photo of their meeting shared on social media. In it, Emily raises her bandaged hand. The image, published by Mandy, says in the caption “Emily is home”.
The Israeli Army reported that Damari and the two other hostages released this Sunday, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were reunited with their mothers in a location close to the area where they were kidnapped about 15 months ago.
The three appeared to be in good health in a video released by the military. They were released as part of a ceasefire negotiated between Israel and Hamas to end the war in the Gaza Strip that began with the terrorist attacks in October 2023. At the time, 1,200 people were killed in Israel – another 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
In exchange for each, 30 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons must be released.
Israel’s military offensive, in turn, resulted in the deaths of almost 47,000 people in Gaza according to authorities linked to Hamas, in addition to forcing the displacement of the majority of the population of the Palestinian territory.
If maintained, the ceasefire could reduce tensions in the Middle East, as the war in Gaza has spread and involved other actors in the region, such as Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – in addition to the guarantor of both groups, Iran.
It also paves the way for an increase in humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. Officials from the WHO (World Health Organization) said that, under the terms of the agreement, the number of trucks with supplies entering Gaza daily must rise from an average of 40 to 50 to 500 to 600.
During the first phase of the deal, expected to last six weeks, Hamas agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50.
Israel says there are still 98 hostages being held in Gaza. Of this total, 94 were kidnapped on October 7th and 4 have been kidnapped since 2014.
In return, the Israeli government can release up to 1,904 Palestinians detained in its prisons, 737 of whom have been accused or convicted of threats to Israeli national security.
The total number in any of the phases will depend on the rate at which hostages are returned – in this first stage, each kidnapped person will be exchanged for, on average, 19 prisoners.
