A British-Israeli hostage held by Hamas for 15 months in Gaza has told Sir Keir Starmer she was detained in a United Nations facility but denied medical treatment during her captivity.
Emily Damari, 28, was taken hostage after being kidnapped from her home on 7 October 2023 by Hamas gunmen who shot her in the hand and leg, as well as killing her pet dog.
While on the phone call with her mother, Emily told the prime minister she had been held for some time in United Nations facilities belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) but was not given access to medical facilities.
An out-of-date bottle was all that was supplied to her, she said, despite losing two fingers on her left hand, and carrying the unhealed wound in her leg.
The pair asked Sir Keir to put maximum pressure on Hamas and UNRWA to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to finally have access to the 82 remaining hostages still being held in the territory.
Writing on X after the phone call, her mother Mandy Damari said: “Hamas held Emily in UNRWA facilities and denied her access to medical treatment after shooting her twice. It’s a miracle that she survived, and we need to get aid to remaining hostages now.”
On the call, the prime minister asked about Emily’s condition after her return.
Mandy replied that she “seems to be doing pretty well psychologically” although she had a long road ahead of her with her physical injuries.
In a statement to Sky News, UNRWA said: “We at UNRWA are relieved that hostages have been released. We hope all other will be released too.
“It is also a relief that Ms Damari has finally been reunited with her family.
“Claims that hostages have been held in UNRWA premises, even if previously vacated, are very serious.
“We have repeatedly called for independent investigations into claims of misuse and disregard of UN premises by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas.”
Emilywas released on Sunday 19 January, alongside fellow female hostages Romi Gonen, 24, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, as part of the opening phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal, which has continued this month with more captives being freed in return for Palestinian prisoners being released.
Image: Emily Damari was freed after 15 months as a hostage. Pic: PA
Three more hostages to be released
A further three Israeli hostages set to be released on Saturday have been named by Hamas.
Ofer Kalderon, Keith Samuel Siegel and Yarden Bibas will be released, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said.
Yarden was kidnapped alongside his wife, Shiri Babas, and their two sons, four-year-old Ariel and 10-month-old Kfir.
He is believed to be the only family member left alive – in November 2023, Hamas said his wife and children had died in an Israeli airstrike before the current ceasefire.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.