Last remaining British hostage named by Hamas as one of three set to be released
The last remaining British hostage in Gaza has been named by Hamas as one of three people set to be released on Sunday.
A ceasefire deal, which promised the phased release of hostages as well as a pause in the 15-month Israel-Hamas war, was delayed on Sunday morning and came into force at 9.15am UK time.
Hamas has named three hostages it plans to release, including British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, who has been in captivity for 470 days.
A lawyer for her family said there has been no “independent verification” that she will be released.
Adam Rose told Times Radio: “No, we’ve not had any independent verification. I’ve seen what’s out in public, I’ve been in touch with the family, but not had specific confirmation yet, no.”
He said Ms Damari’s family are in an “impossible position”, adding: “Their daughter, their only daughter, now 28, was taken from her home on October 7 2023, she was injured in the process, and their world’s just been turned upside down while they’re waiting to find out what’s happened to their daughter.”
Mr Rose said the “ongoing torture” the family have been through is “unimaginable”.
He told Times Radio: “I think the idea that a close family member of yours, or of any of your listeners, is taken early in the morning from their home – I visited Emily’s little house on the kibbutz, bullet-ridden and burnt, last January – and it’s pretty unimaginable to think the terror she went through and the ongoing torture that her family has been put through for 470 days, almost 500 days now.”
The lawyer said he has told her loved ones to “prepare for the worst”.
He told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Our advice has always been until somebody is in your arms and being hugged and they’re alive and well, you have to assume that nothing is happening. And, I suppose, prepare for the worst.
“But hopefully Emily is well. Hopefully Emily will come out this afternoon. Hopefully she’ll be given medical care and then she’ll be hugged.”
Two other hostages, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, are set to be released on Sunday.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel described the situation in the Middle East as “delicate and fragile” as she urged all parties to “stick with the plan that has been outlined”.
She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “The families in Israel must be just going through the most unimaginable anxiety right now, and the hostage names have now been released.
“The three hostages, Emily is clearly one of them, and her mother, Mandy – many of us have met Mandy, we know the family – but just the sheer anxiety and apprehension that they’ll be feeling it’s just extraordinary.”
Dame Priti went on to describe the ceasefire deal as “vital”, adding: “All parties are calling for it. Countries are calling for it. There’s a lot of hope that is really linked to this new deal and framework.
“I think, you know, everyone will urge both sides to, you know, stick with the plan that has been outlined, recognising it’s difficult, it’s very sensitive. We need to see the hostages released in this first phase, others to come out and clearly then work together in a constructive way for a better future for the region.”
By Ellie Ng, PA