“I came back to life,” says the freed British-Israeli hostage

British-Israeli national Emily Damari says she is back “to life” in her first comments since being released from captivity in Gaza.

The 28-year-old was shot in the hand and dragged from his home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

He was one of the first three hostages to be freed on Sunday after 471 days in captivity in a long-awaited release. Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In an Instagram post posted after her release, Emily also wrote, “I love, love, love,” and thanked God, her family and “the closest friends I have in this world.”

According to a translation of the message, which is in Hebrew, he also suggests that he could see some reaction to his release on Sunday, saying “it touched my heart.”

At the bottom of the post, Emily includes a hand emoji with two fingers curled up. He lost two fingers after being shot in the hand during the capture.

His release – along with Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, was the first of several to take place over the next six weeks – if the ceasefire holds. In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners were released.

The release of the hostages will continue until a total of 33 have been returned and approximately 1,900 Palestinians have been released in exchange.

Emily’s family were told in March 2024 that she was still alive, but have not been given any information on her condition since then.

Her mother Mandy, who has spent that time campaigning for her release, said in a statement that her daughter’s release was doing much better than expected.

He said he was delighted that Emily’s release “gave the world a glimpse of her passionate and charismatic personality”.

“Yesterday, I finally got to give Emily the hug I’ve been dreaming of,” Ms. Damari said.

“I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the many people who helped me and my family to bring Emily home.”

He added that “while it’s wonderful to see Emily’s resilience, it’s still early days” and that she “now needs time with her loved ones and her doctors as she begins the road to recovery.”

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the release of the three hostages was “wonderful and long overdue”.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy, meanwhile, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that he was “delighted and delighted” and “very touched” to hear Emily’s words that she had reached out to her family after her release.

Lammy added that it is important to recognize that there are still hostages and British citizens, for example Nadav Popplewellthey are dead

Adam Rose, a lawyer representing the families of the hostages, including Emily’s, said they “seemed to be radiating joy” but that the release would be “a moment of joy and more torture and horror for the families of the other hostages who didn’t get out”. .

Among those still in captivity are others with close ties to the UK. Among others, Eli Sharabiwho was taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 attacks that killed his wife and two daughters.

It is not known if he is still alive, as 34 of the prisoners still held by Hamas are believed to be dead. His brother, Yossi, was also taken hostage and later killed in captivity, in what Hamas said was the result of an Israeli airstrike.

The fate of Oded Lifschitz, the 84-year-old father of British Israeli citizen Sharone Lifschitz, is also still unknown. His mother Yocheved, Oded’s wife for many years, he was released more than a year ago earlier as part of the agreement to release the hostages.

Describing her feelings as she waits for news from her father, Sharon told the BBC’s Woman’s Hour programme: “I’m fine. Since October 7th we’ve been so used to (a) mix of joy and terrible terror and pain.”

He said it was “pure joy” to see the three women released on Sunday, adding that despite knowing there was “much more pain to come”, the moments when the families were reunited were “wonderful”.

Avinatan Or, a British-Israeli mother, was kidnapped at the Supernova music festival along with her girlfriend, Noa Argamani. He was rescued from central Gaza in June 2024 and revealed that they had been separated during the abduction.