Released Israeli hostages may finally be able to return home, but they are forced to take their scars—both physical and mental—with them.
Emily Damari has undergone a series of operations since being freed in January, relating to wounds she suffered on October 7th. The British-Israeli former hostage was shot at close range in her left hand, causing her to lose two fingers, as well as in her right leg.
A medic calling himself “Dr. Hamas” sewed up the site of her damaged nerves shortly after the pogrom, leaving a large and painful open scar. Besides this—and a reportedly out-of-date bottle of Iodine—Damari received no medical aid during her 471 days in captivity. Her mother, Mandy, said it was “nothing short of a miracle that she did not contract a life-threatening infection.”
Thanking God, the Israeli Defence Forces, and “everyone who fought to give me my life back,” Damari displayed an extraordinary strength of character after surgery, saying:
I embrace my hand, my leg and my scars—to me they represent freedom, hope and strength.
The Israeli foreign ministry responded that “there are not enough words in the dictionary to describe the bravery of former hostage Emily Damari” for turning her disability into a “source of pride.”
It has also emerged that authorities felt obliged to conceal Damari’s sexuality while she was held captive by the gay-hating terrorists, with her same-sex partner referred to as her ‘best friend’ throughout. This prompted commentator Jake Wallis Simons to lash out at the so-called “Queers for Palestine” movement.
Other hostages were released looking considerably more gaunt than before their time in captivity, having been given only tiny amounts of food and limited access to cleaning facilities.
Additional prompt releases now seem to be in the far future, after Hamas rejected Israel’s request to extend the first phase of their ceasefire agreement. Today Hamas accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of “cheap blackmail” (by blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza)—despite all its attempts to mock, terrorise, and humiliate Israelis during the ceasefire process to date.
