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Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'She's one of our own': Newly freed Israeli-British hostage Emily Damari gets a hero's welcome watching Spurs
Hundreds of Spurs supporters gathered outside the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday morning to welcome back newly released British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari. Lifelong Tottenham fan Emily, 28, was given a hero's welcome by almost 300 football fans in her first public appearance in London since she was freed from Hamas captivity earlier this year. Speaking to the cheering crowd Emily Damari - who was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Azar and spent 471 days as a hostage in Gaza - said: 'I am very happy to be here [in the UK]. 'Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, who shouted my name without knowing me. 'Thank you I don't have the words to say how grateful I am. All of you are amazing. I hope Spurs are going to win today!' Wearing a Spurs shirt, Emily - who returned to Israel in January during a hostage-exchange and ceasefire deal - added: 'I want to give a special thanks to all the Jews in the diaspora, but especially to the UK Jewish community, who came out to support my mother and my family campaigning tirelessly to help secure my release. 'May the other 59 [remaining] hostages be home soon. 'Gali and Ziv Berman [they are] very, very, very close friends of mine and I hope they bring them home today.' The 27-year-old twins Gali and Ziv Berman were kidnapped alongside Ms Damari from their safe room on October 7 2023 in the devastating terror attack that killed around 1,200 people. The brothers are amongst the 59 people who are still being held hostage in Gaza by the Palestinian terror group with just 24 still thought to be alive after almost 600 days of imprisonment. Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while they had believed 24 hostages were still alive, he was now uncertain about the fate of three of them. Meanwhile Emily's mother Mandy Damari said: 'I am over the moon. 'I am so glad she's back and here with the people who supported her all the time. 'We need all the 59 hostages back [including] Gali and Ziv who are Emily's friends.' As campaigners chanted 'she's one of our own, she's one of our own, Emily Damari is finally home', Emily released 59 yellow balloons into the air to signify the 59 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. Further chants of 'bring them home now' and 'Am Yisrael Chai [the Jewish people live] also rang out in the streets outside the football club ahead of their highly anticipated match against Crystal Palace. Since the start of the football season dozens of Tottenham fans have gathered outside the stadium ahead of every game to demand the immediate release of Emily Damari. In her honour they have released yellow balloons during matches, stuck up missing posters of hostages, and tied yellow ribbons to lamp posts along White Hart Lane. Once inside the stadium, Emily was greeted by several current and former high-profile Tottenham and England football players including midfielder James Maddison, Ledley King, Gary Mabbutt and Ossie Ardiles. Tottenham Hotspur fans with a banner outside the stadium celebrating the release of Emily Damari, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack. Itai Galmudy, Tottenham fan and founder of Stop the Hate, the group behind Sunday's celebratory event, said: 'We organised this to say welcome back to Emily. 'For too long we have been waiting, dreaming that she [Emily] would be released. 'And to be quite frank we knew it was a real possibility that this day will never come. 'We campaigned for her here in the rain, sun, in the good times, the bad times. 'And to have her coming to the Spurs stadium today is the crescendo of this entire campaign. 'We could not have imagined a better outcome. Mother-of-five Tracy Levi, 53, who attended the event on Sunday, added: 'It is quite surreal seeing this person that you know from a sticker in real life. 'I can't even begin to imagine what she went through, and the strength of resilience she has shown should be a lesson to everybody. 'We haven't forgotten about any of the hostages and we will keep fighting until they are all home.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Relatives aim lights at Gaza Strip to call for release of Israeli twin brothers taken during Oct. 7 attack
Multiple lights were aimed at the Gaza Strip on Wednesday from the house where Israeli twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were seized by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Family and friends of the brothers gathered outside the home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, expressing hope that the twins would see the beams light up the night sky from wherever they were being held. (AP Video by Moshe Edri)
