Emily Damari, the British-Israeli former hostage, described how a medic calling himself “Dr Hamas” sewed her nerves together while operating on gunshot wounds to her hand after she was kidnapped in the Oct 7 attack.
Ms Damari said she had “embraced” the pain and scars as she posted pictures of herself at an Israeli hospital where she had corrective surgery following her release.
Thanking the Israeli medical team for helping her recovery, she described how she was taken to the notorious Al Shifa hospital in Gaza by Hamas militants during her kidnapping. Israel has long accused Hamas of using Shifa as a base.
She said a surgeon there introduced himself as “Dr Hamas” before putting her under anaesthetic.
“And then this moment arrived – they put me in the operating room with a body in front of me, I see the blue sky that should have been grey on a day like this. I ask God to protect me.
“Then I woke up when ‘Dr Hamas’ informed me that I had two fingers missing and the wound on my foot remained open with four stitches instead of 16.”
‘I know that there are others still in captivity who are in much worse shape than I am,’ Emily said – Pomi Ofir Tal/PA
She said she has now undergone a series of “complex operations” to her hand and leg after returning to Israel in January following 471 days in captivity.
“I have fully embraced my hand, my pain, and my scars. To me they represent freedom, hope and strength,” Ms Damari, 29, said, holding up her wounded limbs at Sheba Medical Centre in central Israel.
Mandy Damari, Emily’s mother, said that her daughter had been “sewn up like a pin cushion” by Hamas, causing significant pain in her hand and leg.
Her hand would never “fully recover”, Ms Damari said, “but the intense pain I had for a year and a half due to the nerves being sewn together after my first operation in Shifa hospital is now no longer with me and the large scar, that was caused by an open, festering wound that did not heal for four months because of the conditions of the tunnels I was held in, is now looking better.”
Emily was treated at Al Shifa hospital, under which Hamas had built extensive tunnels to hide hostages – Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Israel operated extensively in and around the Shifa hospital in the beginning of the war, accusing Hamas of operating from there and holding hostages.
The IDF would later reveal that Hamas had built extensive tunnels under the hospital, and Ms Damari’s testimony now confirms that the terror group also held hostages here.
She told Sir Keir Starmer soon after her release that she was kept in tunnels, with no sanitation or access to clean water, and received no medical aid for her severe injuries other than an out-of-date bottle of iodine.
“It is nothing short of a miracle that she did not contract a life-threatening infection,” her mother said.
Emily tells of the intense pain she had for a year and a half as a captive
Ms Damari also commented on the condition of some of the other Israeli hostages who had been released, saying it was “shocking but not surprising to see how emaciated some of the other hostages were when they came out”.
“Although my injuries were not simple, I know that there are others still in captivity who are in much worse shape than I am, physically and mentally. Every remaining hostage must come home without any further delay. Hamas has created hell on Earth, the conditions down there are unimaginable,” she added.
Ms Damari said that with the help of physiotherapy she hoped to be able to use her hand “much more effectively” than was previously possible.
“The surgery in my hand and leg went much better than expected, thanks to the expertise and professionalism at Sheba Medical Centre. I would like to thank the surgeons, the nurses and the staff at the hospita, for the incredible care I’ve received,” she said.
Ms Damari has been invited by Sir Keir Starmer to visit Downing Street: “After I recover from my surgeries, and after the remaining hostages are all released, I will be so excited to come back to Britain. I have so many people that I want to thank personally for helping me get my life back.”
As a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur fan, Ms Damari says she is determined to make the journey to London and thank her fellow fans who were heard to chant during games “Bring Emily Home” while she was a captive.
