The BBC on Tuesday aired an interview with Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari, who has been held captive by Hamas for nearly a year and two months. Speaking to the network, Mandy expressed her fear that her daughter, 28, might already be dead.
Emily, who holds dual Israeli-British citizenship, was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas' October 7 attack. She is the only British national among the hostages. During the assault, Hamas terrorists killed her dog, and Mandy narrowly escaped death herself. She hid in her home as the terrorists fired at the door; one bullet struck the lock, jamming it and preventing them from entering.
"If she's not dead, she's not getting enough food to eat, she's not able to wash herself, drink water, she could be ill. she's suffering from gunshot wounds to her hand and her leg... I worry every day, I worry every second because in the next second, she could be murdered, just because she's there."
Born in Surrey, southeast England, Mandy described her daughter as a Tottenham Hotspur fan who enjoys visiting the UK to see family, shop, and go to pubs. Currently in the UK, Mandy has been meeting with local leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but expressed disappointment with the British government. She called on it to do more to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the hostages as negotiations for their release continue.
Mandy criticized the UK government’s recent decision to back a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, arguing it failed to prioritize the release of hostages. The U.S. vetoed the resolution, saying it did not make hostage release a precondition for the cease-fire.
“I felt really like they were stabbing me in the heart," Mandy said. "There was no prerequisite to release the hostages... It was basically signing a death warrant for her [Emily], because if there's a ceasefire with no release of the hostages, the hostages will stay there forever."
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
Desperate for a sign of life, Mandy highlighted the lack of focus on aid for the hostages. "We talk about humanitarian aid all the time to Gaza, but I don't hear about humanitarian aid for the hostages who are held in despicable conditions. I'm desperate to get humanitarian aid into her, for someone to see her. It's a human right to allow people to see what's happening to her.”
She welcomed a statement by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who said on Monday there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not released before he takes office on January 20. "It made me a bit more optimistic," she said. "It gave me a bit of hope that maybe someone does really care about what's going on there. Someone has to do something and take strong action to get them released. And that's the strongest thing I've heard anyone say for a long time." She expressed hope that Trump would use his power to secure Emily’s release alongside the other hostages.
Mandy told the BBC she had refrained from speaking publicly about her daughter until recently, trusting Israeli and British authorities and mediators to secure her release. Now, she hopes to rally public support.
"She is the only British hostage being held... and I want people to help me to get her out, to be her voice because she can’t call out for herself. She has no voice,” she said.