Amid reports of renewed hostage negotiations, the mother of the only remaining British hostage being held in Gaza has renewed appeals for the release of her daughter.
Mandy Damari, mother of Emily Damari, 28, has called for any potential deal to include her daughter.
“With a potential deal beginning to materialise, now is the moment for Britain to make its voice heard at the negotiating table. Emily and the other remaining British-linked hostages must be returned home immediately, unconditionally, and alive – if not already confirmed dead – to their families,” Damari said.
Emily Damari has been held by terrorists in Gaza for 429 days. She is the only British hostage who remains in captivity and her mother has made repeated calls for the British government to do more to bring her home.
On Monday, she said: “I call on the British Government to redouble its efforts to secure Emily’s release and to match their humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza with a focused commitment to ensure that aid also reaches the hostages. These individuals are enduring inhumane conditions without sufficient access to food, water, or medicine.”
She noted that Nadav Popplewell, another British-Israeli citizen taken hostage on October 7, was “failed by everyone who should have acted to protect him.”
“This collective failure led to his tragic murder in captivity, a devastating reminder of the cost of inaction,” Damari said.
Hamas announced Popplewell’s death in May, alleging that he had been killed by wounds he sustained in an Israeli airstrike.
“The time to act decisively and with urgency is now.”
During Damari’s visit to the UK last week, she met with leaders of all of the political parties, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
She told members of the government: “Let's be honest, nothing that has been tried so far has really made any difference.”
“I’m asking the government to lead this effort on the international stage to secure Emily and the other surviving hostages that doctors visit, and clean food and water, to keep all the hostages alive while the campaign to bring them home continues. It’s time to convert all the goodwill in this room into doing good in the world.”
She added: “How do I know that we can do this? I’m not a diplomat or a world leader, but Emily does have a tattoo which says ‘mummy’s always right’. So it must be true. And I believe that Emily is out there fighting with everything she has to stay alive. We owe it to her, to ourselves and to all the hostages to fight just as hard. To all of you here, please do not let this fight fade away.”
