The mother of the last remaining British hostage in Gaza has said she wants “solutions, not sympathy” as she appealed to the Government to help keep her daughter alive in captivity ahead of securing her release.
British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped on October 7 last year and has been a hostage for 426 days, her mother Mandy told a press conference in London.
The 63-year-old was supported on Thursday by Lord Stuart Polak who described Ms Damari as “a mum desperate to have her family back together”.
In a statement to the media, Ms Damari said she spends her time in Israel campaigning for a ceasefire deal that secures the hostages’ release and brings an end to the war and “everyone’s suffering”.
“But this week I came to Britain with a different message,” she said.
“And my message is this: A hostage deal may be weeks, months or even further away. Meanwhile, their condition deteriorates every single hour. Much more needs to be done, and much more can be done, to keep Emily and the other hostages alive while they remain in captivity.
“Otherwise, they will all die the most painful and tragic deaths imaginable in the tunnels. Many already have, and words alone will not save those who still remain.”
The mother said Hamas has “consistently” blocked the hostages from accessing the humanitarian aid coming into Gaza and stressed that some of that aid “must finally reach my daughter and the other hostages”.
“The hostages are fighting tooth and nail to stay alive, they cannot survive a second winter with only our thoughts and prayers,” Ms Damari added.
She has met a host of politicians this week from across the political spectrum on her trip to the UK, and gave special thanks to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who told her he would talk to US president-elect Donald Trump about Emily and the other hostages.
But Ms Damari expressed disappointment over the actions of Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Her situation is dire, and she desperately needs to be released along with every other remaining hostage
She told the media that she addressed around 100 Labour MPs, including Mr Lammy, at the annual Labour Friends of Israel event on Monday during which she “specifically and repeatedly ask for action on the hostage aid situation”.
“I had estimated that my call to action had been well received,” she said.
“A few hours after my speech, however, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on the need for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza for the winter. There was no mention of the need to get any of that aid to Emily and the other hostages, and no additional remarks have been made on the subject since then.
“I appreciate the Foreign Secretary’s warmth in our personal meetings, but as I have said I came for solutions, not sympathy. I hope that he is willing to adopt the cause of working to keep Emily alive while we wait for her eventual release.”
Ms Damari repeatedly said she is not interested in politics and is instead focused on freeing her daughter who is “a pawn in a political game for power and ego and money”.
Ms Damari grew up in Beckenham, south-east London, and travelled to Israel in her 20s where she fell in love and raised her family on the Kfar Aza kibbutz.
It was the same kibbutz from which Emily was taken last year when she was “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza”.
Although Ms Damari has not had confirmation of the fact that her daughter is alive for eight months, she believes “she is still with us today”.
“But as I have said before, every day is a new death sentence for her in Gaza,” she said.
“Her situation is dire, and she desperately needs to be released along with every other remaining hostage.
“From what we do know, the hostages have been hidden down in Hamas’s terror tunnel in the network and are being held in shocking conditions without any shred of compassion or mercy.
“Any number of causes could kill Emily – disease, starvation, dehydration, torture, execution or even friendly fire.”
Ms Damari said she is also “terrified” that her daughter and other female hostages are exposed to “the constant threat of sexual assault”.
During the press conference, she thanked the British public for “keeping Emily in your hearts”.
“I’m overwhelmed and so deeply grateful to the hundreds of people who I don’t even know who are creating posters, stickers, and chanting Emily’s name at football matches and sharing her story on social media,” she said.
“Emily and I loved coming to London together around Christmas time, and seeing all the lights go up with her and without her here it is another painful reminder of what I have lost, but I want to thank all of you for helping me believe that she will make it back from hell, and that next Christmas season we can come back to London together.”
