The mother of a British hostage kidnapped by Hamas has expressed disappointment in foreign secretary David Lammy, after he strongly criticised Israel for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mandy Damari, 63, had attended the Labour Friends of Israel annual lunch on Monday, and had given a speech in front of 100 MPs to raise awareness of her daughter Emily’s plight, who has not been heard from since March.
In a press conference on Thursday, she said that she had met with Mr Lammy at the event, but less than 24 hours later he had tweeted that he and his German and French counterparts (the E3 group) agreed to send an ultimatum to the Israeli government to demand more aid for Gaza.
This was despite her “repeatedly asking for action” to provide aid to her 28-year-old daughter, who has now been trapped in the besieged enclave for more than 400 days. Ms Damari, who was born in Surrey and raised in Beckenham, said that his tweet contained no mention of her daughter’s situation.
Mr Lammy had posted on social media on Tuesday: “Together with France and Germany, I have written to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israel must implement the UN‘s winter plan now: send equipment to guard against cold & flooding, give access to fuel, repair vital infrastructure, and get aid in.”
“I appreciate the foreign secretary’s warmth in our meetings but I came for solutions, not sympathy,” Ms Damari told reporters.
Emily was taken from her home in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and suffered gunshot wounds to her hand and her leg before being blindfolded and taken across the border during the shock incursion. Her dog Choocha, who was with her, was killed with a gunshot to the neck.
Her mother managed to survive due to a jammed lock in her safe room, while 64 people were killed in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and another 19 kidnapped. About 1,200 people were killed that day, while Emily and 250 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages, with the Israeli government estimates that around 100 are still in captivity.
Little is known about her daughter’s whereabouts aside from reports by released hostages that Emily had maintained her “spirit”, with Ms Damari telling reporters: “Despite the long silence I believe she is still with us today.”
She called for aid to reach her daughter, stressing: “The hostages are fighting tooth and nail to survive, they cannot survive a second winter with only our thoughts and prayers.”
Ms Damari has been in the UK throughout this week meeting with political leaders, including prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform leader Nigel Farage.
She said that while she was “heartened” to hear Sir Keir reinforce that the hostages must come home and to see Emily’s situation being discussed in the Commons, more must be done to prevent her daughter from dying the “most tragic and terrifying death in the tunnels”.
She added that Mr Farage had issued a strong statement in support of Emily’s case, and had “promised to talk” to incoming US president Donald Trump. On Monday, Trump had posted on Truth Social that there would be “all hell to pay” if the hostages had not been released by the time he assumed office in January.
However, Ms Damari described the UK government’s recent decision to back a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as a “death warrant”, as it did not ensure the release of the hostages. While the draft did demand their release, it was vetoed by the US which said it did not make that a precondition for a ceasefire.
“We worry that Emily is no longer singing. Over the last 12 months while in captivity enduring unimaginable horrors, she has missed birthdays, weddings and the births of friends’ and family’s children. She even missed her grandfather’s death in London earlier this year.”
She recounted her daughter’s love of Adele, Tottenham Hotspur and her regular visits to the UK, which would see her indulge in cups of tea, Cadbury’s chocolate and a full English breakfast.
Emily remains the only British hostage being held in Gaza.
More than 44,500 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave since Israel launched a military campaign in response to the 7 October attack, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
