Hamas has released three women hostages in exchange of 30 Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails on Sunday afternoon. One of the three women released by Hamas is UK citizen Emily Damari.
Who is Emily Damari?
Emily Damari, 28, was taken hostage by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. The British-Israeli dual citizen in her final message to family said the terrorists were in her locality around 10 am that day.
Damari's friend Bar Kislev who survived the attack later revealed that he saw someone driving Damari's car around 11 am near the residential area.
Besides Damari, seven others were kidnapped from Kfar Aza while 11 others were murdered. In 2024, Dafna Elyakim, 15, who was released by Hamas in November 23, said that she saw five other hostages held captive by Hamas, including Damari. The others were Naama Levy, Romy Gonen, Agam Berger and Liri Albag.
Among these, Romi Gonen, 24, was also released on January 19. The third woman who was returned to Israel was Doron Steinbrecher, 31.
Hamas will release 30 more hostages in the first phase of the truce deal. These include seven women and 2 children besides elderly and sick men. To find the list of all 30 hostages, click HERE.
The remaining 65 hostages will be released by Hamas once the negotiations for the second phase are agreed by the two sides. Many of these hostages are already dead but Hamas is yet to confirm the exact numbers.