Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has thanked his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for his government’s work to secure the release of Emily Damari and other hostages held by Hamas.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, the two leaders held a call earlier today: “The Prime Minister began by offering the UK’s support for the hard-fought and long-awaited ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which has now entered its third day.”
They added that Starmer “offered his personal thanks for the work done by the Israeli government to secure the release of the hostages, including British hostage Emily Damari”.
“To see the pictures of Emily finally back in her family’s arms was a wonderful moment but a reminder of the human cost of the conflict”, Starmer added, according to the official readout.
Damari, along with Romy Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, was released from Hamas captivity after 471 days on Sunday after being abducted during the October 7 attacks.
Ninety-four hostages remain in captivity, 30 of whom are set to return to Israel in the coming weeks during the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The second batch of releases is due to take place this Saturday.
Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons are due to be released in return as part of the fragile, multi-phased deal between Israel and the terror group.
British-Israeli Emily was reunited with her family on Sunday after 471 days in Hamas captivity
During his conversation with Netanyahu, Starmer also “reiterated that it was vital to ensure humanitarian aid can now flow uninterrupted into Gaza, to support the Palestinians who desperately need it.”
It comes after the PM’s Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer criticised Israeli legislation aimed at curtailing the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in a speech to the United Nations on Monday.
“As the Foreign Secretary has said, Israeli legislation means UNRWA faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. We urge Israel not to endanger UNRWA’s ability to operate”, he told the UN Security Council in New York.
Israeli political figures across the political spectrum have expressed opposition to UNRWA and have claimed that employees of the organisation participated in atrocities on October 7.
In an interview with the JC, the former leader of Israel’s Labour Party, Merav Michaeli, alleged that “a lot of people who work in UNRWA are Hamas's people”.
One of Labour’s first acts in government was to restore funding to UNRWA, a move that drew criticism from the Conservatives.
By contrast, President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order to halt funding to the agency as part of measures announced on his inauguration.
A Downing Street spokesperson also confirmed that, during the call with Netanyahu, “the Prime Minister added that the UK stands ready to do everything it can to support a political process, which should also lead to a viable and sovereign Palestinian state”.
The two leaders then “agreed to continue their close co-operation on defence and security matters in support of wider stability in the region – particularly in the face of the ongoing threat posed by Iran.”
