British hostage among three released during fragile truce

All three now in Tel Aviv as Israel releases 90 Palestinians

- BEL TREW

The last British hostage in Gaza was freed by Hamas yesterday after more than 15 months in captivity, as part of a long-fought ceasefire to end the ruinous conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was released alongside two other female captives and reunited with her mother, Mandy, yesterday evening, after what the family described as nearly 500 “tortuous days” in captivity.

In footage taken in Gaza, cheering crowds of armed militants were seen handing over Emily, alongside her friend Doron Steinbrecher, 31, who was captured with her from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was seized from the Nova music festival.

The trio are now in Israel. They were assessed at Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, with doctors reporting that the women are in stable condition and will be monitored for a few days.

Earlier today Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. A large bus carrying dozens of Palestinian detainees exited the gates of Israel’s Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah. According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, all of those released are women or minors.

The release came as United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip yesterday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.

Later, in emotional images released online, Emily was seen hugging her mother and waving a bandaged hand, wounded when she was shot during her capture. Mandy, who also survived Hamas’s attack on Kfar Aza, thanked people worldwide for their efforts to bring Emily home.

“I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal,” she said.

“While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for far too many other families, the impossible wait continues,” she added.