Israel-Gaza ceasefire latest updates: Brit hostage Emily Damari and two other women reunited with their mothers in heartwarming scenes in Israel as they are released by Hamas after 471 days in captivity

Romi Gonen told Emily Damari’s mother:

You don’t understand what your daughter has meant to me all this time.

The three Israeli hostages have arrived at Sheba hospital in central Israel, an AFP journalist reported.

Travelling in military helicopters and accompanied by their mothers, the three women, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, landed at the hospital – where the army said the rest of their family members awaited them.

All three hostages freed today, along with their mothers, have been taken by an Israeli Air Force helicopter to a hospital.

They are being brought to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, where they are expected to meet the rest of their families. They are said to be in good health.

Doron’s family issued a statement through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.

‘After an unbearable 471 days, our beloved Dodo has finally returned to our arms. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported and accompanied us along this journey.

‘A special thank you to the people of Israel for their warm embrace, unwavering support, and the strength they gave us during our darkest moments. We also extend our gratitude to President Trump for his significant involvement and support, which meant so much to us.

‘Our heroic Dodo, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, begins her rehabilitation journey today. We will continue to stand with all the families and do everything in our power until all of their loved ones return home.’

Doron Steinbrecher’s family said: ‘Our heroic Doron, who survived 471 days in Hamas’ dungeons, begins her rehabilitation journey today.

‘We will continue to stand by all the families and do everything we can until all their loved ones return home.’

The return of the hostages today ‘represents a beacon of light in the darkness, a moment of hope and triumph of the human spirit’ the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents some hostage families, said.

The release of the three women, the first of 33 hostages due to be freed from Gaza under phase one of the deal, is in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

They were taken in one of the most traumatic episodes in Israel’s history, when Hamas gunmen attacked a string of communities around the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 civilians and soldiers and abducting 251 hostages – men, women, children and elderly.

But amid hope among many Israelis that the six-week ceasefire marks the beginning of the end to the war, there is deep unease about the uncertainty surrounding the remaining 94 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

The next hostages will be released on Saturday, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

The release of the second batch of Israeli prisoners (hostages) will take place on the evening of next Saturday, the seventh day from the start of the ceasefire agreement.

The mothers of the released Israeli hostages were seen anxiously awaiting the arrival of their daughters as they made their way to hospitals to be treated.

It comes as Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Emily Damari, 28, were the first hostages to be handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas in Gaza this afternoon.

Their release forms part of the first phase of the ceasefire and hostages agreement between Israel and Hamas.

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Emily lost two of her fingers on the day she was kidnapped, when she was injured by Hamas gunfire.

But she seemed happy and smiling today as she video-called her brother after she was released, waving a bandaged hand over the phone.

The 28-year-old was shot in the hand and dragged from her home in southern Israel 471 days ago.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has welcomed the release of three hostages in Gaza and said ‘our thoughts are also with those still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones’.

Mr Lammy said: ‘We welcome the release of three hostages in Gaza, including British national Emily Damari, and thank Qatar, Egypt and the US for their support in bringing these individuals’ and their families’ horrific ordeal to an end.

‘Our thoughts are also with those still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, including the families of UK linked hostages Eli Sharabi, Oded Lifshitz and Avinatan Or.

‘We are clear the deal must be implemented in full; all hostages be returned and aid be allowed to flow into Gaza now.

‘This ceasefire must lead to a credible pathway towards a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace.’

Emily Damari has been reunited with her mother after 471 days in captivity.

Images show an emotional Emily and her mum on facetime to her brother.

Emily’s mother Mandy was earlier pictured watching a livestream of the moment her daughter was released by Hamas.

Mandy tonight in a statement thanked those who fought to bring Emily home.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press conference that over the course of six weeks ‘three to four additional hostages will be released each week’.

Emily Damari’s mother has just released a statement thanking those who ‘never stopped saying her name’ before her release after 470 days held captive.

‘I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name,’ the mother said.

‘In Israel, Britain, the United States, and around the world. Thank you for bringing Emily home.’

Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped during the October 7 attacks and has been a hostage for 470 days.

The Israeli-British woman is pictured below being escorted out of a vehicle during he release today.

The order in which the three female hostages came out of the van were Doron Steinbrecher, 30, first, followed by Ms Damari and then Romi Gonen, 24.

British-Israeli Emily Damari was one of three hostages Hamas freed today after there were delays to the ceasefire deal betwen Israel and Hamas.

The 28-year-old’s mother, Mandy Damari, who grew up in Beckenham, south-east London, has fiercely campaigned for her daughter’s freedom, and those close to the family have told of her ‘unending torment’.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has just been speaking at the White House.

He said today’s ceasefire deal was the one he proposed last year and endorsed by the UN.

The ‘region has been fundamentally transformed,’ he said.

‘After so much pain, death and loss of life, today the guns in Gaza have gone silent.’

The politician added that Hamas has been weakened by Israel and Hezbollah’s leadership has been ruined.

‘It now falls to the next administration to implement this deal,’ he said.

The mothers of the three female hostages released by Hamas this afternoon watched their daughters return to Israel following an agonising wait.

The three women are being accompanied by IDF special forces as they return to Israeli territory.

The official Israel X account has just posted this photo below alongside the words: ‘We’ve been waiting for this moment for 471 days.’

The Israeli military has confirmed the freed hostages are now with its forces.

The three women are being accompanied by IDF special forces as they return to Israeli territory.

They will then undergo an initial medical assessment.

One of the hostages is pictured below walking between the vehicles during a chaotic handover.

The vehicle was surrounded by armed terrorists wearing green Hamas headbands.

Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, cheers erupted from a crowd that had gathered to watch a live stream of the hostages being released.

Hamas militants have brazenly emerged from hiding to celebrate a new ceasefire with Israel, shamelessly parading through the streets of Gaza while brandishing AK-47s and waving the group’s green flags.

Startling images show masked fighters in camouflage and balaclavas, some standing on vehicles, others marching defiantly through towns that have been reduced to rubble after months of intense fighting.

The ceasefire, which took effect at 11:15am local time, brings a temporary pause to 15 months of bloodshed.

Read the full story below.

A senior Hamas official told AFP that Hamas had handed over three Israeli women hostages to the Red Cross, as agreed with Israel in a ceasefire deal.

‘The three women hostages were officially handed over to the Red Cross at Al-Saraya Square in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City,’ the official said.

‘This occurred after a member of the Red Cross team met with them and ensured their well-being.’

The hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross, the Israeli military has confirmed.

The women are Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.

They were seen walking into the Red Cross vehicles and are now being driven towards the IDF forces on the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli official told Reuters the trio are in ‘good health’.

The IDF said in a post on X: ‘According to information received from the Red Cross, 3 Israeli hostages were transferred to the Red Cross and they are on their way toward IDF and ISA forces in Gaza.’

A Hamas official has told Reuters that the handover of hostages from Hamas to the Red Cross is currently underway.

Pictured below are the Israeli military helicopters that will transfer the three women.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank the Israeli police are preparing for the Palestinian prisoner release.

Some 90 prisoners are being released as part of the deal.

Some Israeli police mini-buses can be seen outside the Ofer prison. Hamas has stated that for every Israeli captive freed, 30 Palestinians will be as well.

The IDF has shared these exclusive images on its X page of one of its helicopters.

It has been adapted to receive the hostages and will transport them back home.

People have gathered in Tel Aviv to watch a television broadcast ahead of the hostage release.

A heartwarming sign was also put up on the main road in Gaza by IDF soldiers that the female hostages will see as they are transported toward Israel.

The process of transferring the three Israeli hostages has begun, according to local media.

The three women being released are Brit Emily Damaria, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.

The International Committee of the Red Cross team in Gaza is on the way to collect the hostages as the ceasefire takes shape.

A group of police officers have been accused of manhandling a ‘pregnant’ woman during a pro-Palestine protest this afternoon in central London.

Officers arrested 77 people as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets of London today – with some carrying signs praising Hamas and others displaying swastikas.

The Metropolitan Police said this was the highest number of arrests the force has seen and that it was in response to the ‘the most significant escalation in criminality’.

Read the full story below.

Thousands of Palestinian supporters gathered in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday to celebrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following a 15-month war.

The ceasefire was delayed in a last-minute hitch when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would not begin until Israel received from Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas a list of names of Israeli hostages set to be released.

A Pro-Palestine celebration in Melbourne’s Coburg North on Sunday night attracted hundreds in support of those affected by the conflict in the Middle East that has left many grieving for lost family members and destroyed homes.

Read the full story below.

Pope Francis says he hopes the ceasefire will be respected as he urged for a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages.

The Argentine pontiff said: ‘I hope that, as agreed, it will be immediately respected by the parties and that all the hostages will finally be able to go home to hug their loved ones again.

‘I pray so much for them, and their families. I also hope that humanitarian aid will even more quickly reach… the people of Gaza, who have so many urgent needs.’

He said ‘both Israelis and Palestinians need clear signs of hope’ and called for both political parties to ‘reach the right two-state solution’.

Hamas says it is awaiting a list of 90 prisoners to be released by Israel as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire.

‘The occupation is expected to hand over shortly a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children who are set to be released on the first day of the ceasefire,’ Hamas said in statement.

The terrorist group added the truce deal stipulates ‘the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one civilian detainee’.

The UK Government has welcomed reports that British national Emily Damari is on the list of hostages to be released by Hamas today.

A Foreign Office spokesperson added: ‘We stand ready to support her upon her release.’

The UK Government welcomes the reports that British national Emily Damari is on the list of hostages to be released by Hamas today. We stand ready to support her upon her release. We urge both sides to implement all phases of the deal in full and for all hostages to be returned.

The friends of Romi Gonen – who was abducted from the Nova music festival – reacted with joy at the news she is one of three hostages being released today.

In a touching video posted on X, her pals can be seen cheering and jumping as they read the news on their mobile phones.

Sir Tony Blair has said the ceasefire deal ‘marks a crucial step towards ending the devastation’ of the conflict since October 2023.

In a statement, the former PM said: ‘I welcome the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

‘This marks a crucial step toward ending the devastation and heartbreak of the past 15 months, which saw immense loss of life and widespread destruction in Gaza, as well as profound anguish for the hostages and their families.

‘Now is the time to focus on rebuilding and creating a different, better reality for Gaza, one which provides Palestinians in Gaza with a future of hope, and Israelis with the security they need.’

The mother of Emily Damari, Mandy, says she ‘just wants to hug’ her daughter after she was named as one of three hostages set to be freed today.

A source close to the Damari family has been speaking with the BBC and said Mandy ‘won’t believe it until she sees it’.

‘It’s been a torturous 471 days, but a particularly torturous 24 hours,’ the source said.

‘Until she’s out and Mandy can actually see that she’s out … It hasn’t happened until it happens. It’s not done until it’s done. And there’s a long road ahead.’

They went on to add they have no idea what condition the hostages are in.

Reuters is reporting that around 200 aid trucks have arrived at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing ahead of entering Gaza.

The United Nations agency for Palestine Refugees posted on X this morning that it had 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter the Palestinian enclave, with half of them carrying food and flour.

The ceasefire truce requires 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel.

London-based filmmaker Sharone Lifschitz, whose father remains a hostage, said ‘we can start healing’ once all the hostages are freed.

She told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: ‘It’s incredible to imagine that Emily (Damari) will be hugging her mum Mandy today. That’s wonderful.’

Ms Lifschitz said she knew her father, Oded, was alive in Gaza in late October 2023 but has heard no news of him since.

‘He was frail and he was shot in the hand,’ she told the programme. ‘His chances are not great but we will know.’

Of her mother, who was also taken hostage but freed previously, Ms Lifschitz said: ‘I think for my mum and the other hostages they all know people that they left behind when they were released.

‘My mum, what she says is that she closes her eyes and she’s back in the tunnels, and she’s there with those that are still there.

‘When we have them back, we can start healing as a society.’

British hostage Emily Damari is set to be released by Hamas today after the militant group released the names of three women being freed at 2pm in the ceasefire deal with Israel.

Ms Damari, 28, was kidnapped during the October 7 attacks and has been a hostage for 470 days.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, 30, are also to be released after Hamas initially failed to hand over a list of hostages.

Read the full story below.

He went on to say the 15-month-long brutal war would have ended ‘long ago’ if Hamas had ‘laid down its weapons and handed over our hostages’.

I want to make it clear that Israel is committed to achieve all the goals of the war that the security cabinet determined, that includes a return of all our hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar (pictured below in 2019) has held a press conference this morning from Jerusalem.

He said the ceasefire was ‘temporary’, echoing Netanyahu’s words, and warned there is ‘no future of peace, stability, and security for both sides while Hamas stays in power’.

Mr Sa’ar said the Israeli government was committed to achieving its goals which included the release of hostages and dismantling Hamas.

The lawyer for the family of British-Israeli Emily Damari said he has told her loved ones to ‘prepare for the worst’, adding: ‘Until somebody is in your arms and being hugged and they’re alive and well, you have to assume that nothing is happening.’

Adam Rose appeared on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in which he said that the ‘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,’ he added.

Mr Rose went on to reveal that Emily’s mother, Mandy, has had no contact with her daughter as he said: ‘We believe that a majority, according to the Israeli authorities, of the 33 on the current list are alive, but we don’t know who is alive and who is dead.’

Footage in August last year showed the moment the sister of Israeli hostage Romi Gonen howled her name across the Gaza border in a heartbreaking effort to reach her.

Romi is one of three hostages who will be released today.

Her mother, Meirav, was forced to listen as terrorists kidnapped Romi into Gaza as her friends lay dying in their car which had been ambushed.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones was asked by BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this morning about the families of people who had been taken hostage by Hamas.

He said that he was ‘sure it will be an increase in hope for the family of Emily Damari, for example, to be named this morning’ as one of the three to be released today.

He later added: ‘It’s unimaginable for all of us, right? I can only guess that for those families, they’ll only be able to breathe when their daughters are back in their arms safe at home.

‘We hope for that to happen as soon as possible and we’ll do everything we can to make that the case.’

Doron Steinbrecher – one of the hostages to be released today – was paraded by Hamas in a video.

Her mother, Simona, 63, exclusively told MailOnline in February last year that she had no idea her daughter was alive until she saw the cruel footage.

The veterinary nurse appeared sallow and anaemic following the unimaginable torment she has suffered since being kidnapped on October 7.

‘It was so scary, she has definitely aged,’ Simona said, shuddering as she recalls the twisted propaganda video.

Read the full story below.

Aid trucks were seen yesterday waiting to enter Gaza ahead of the ceasefire.

As part of the truce, 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid are to be allowed into Gaza every day of the ceasefire.

Fifty of them will be carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to the north, where conditions for civilians are particularly difficult.

The Israeli prime minister’s office has said when the three hostages will be freed today.

The release of the abductees held by Hamas in Gaza will take place after 2pm GMT on Sunday.

In a statement, it also said four other living female hostages would be freed in seven days.

The Gaza ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas took effect at 11.15 am local time (0915 GMT) today, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

Israel’s official X account has shared a list of the 33 hostages set to be freed by Hamas as part of the ceasefire deal.

The youngest is Kfir Bibas who was just nine months old when he was snatched by the terrorists.

A lawyer for the family of the last remaining British hostage Emily Damari said there has been no ‘independent verification’ that she will be released.

It comes after she was named by Hamas as one of three hostages set to be freed on Sunday.

Lawyer 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.’

An Israel official has told Reuters they have the names of the first hostages set to be freed.

Hamas confirmed in a post on Telegram the names of the three women who it says will be freed first.

They are Brit Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31.

Emily, 28, is the only remaining British-Israeli captive still held in Gaza who has been held hostage for 470 days.

She was shot in the hand and leg when she was snatched from her home in southern Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Emily was in her own flat in the kibbutz when Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel, killing some 1,170 people and taking 251 hostage.

Hostages released in the November 2023 truce told her mother, Mandy, how her daughter showed ‘bravery and courage’, singing ‘It’s a Great Morning’ every morning ‘despite the darkness’.

Ms Damari spoke at the official anniversary event commemorating the October 7 massacre in Hyde Park, London a year after Hamas’ deadly incursion, addressing a large crowd who had turned out in support.

Speaking publicly for the first time about her daughter, she said that she felt like her daughter had been ‘forgotten’ in captivity.

Mediators have told Israel that they have received the list of three hostage names set to be freed today – which includes Briton Emily Damari, according to Sky News.

Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher are the other two civilians on the list.

A Hamas armed wing spokesperson made the announcement in a post on Telegram, writing: ‘As part of the… prisoner swap deal, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, decided to release the following Israeli prisoners today.’

It is not yet known if the ceasefire will go ahead today as planned as part of the agreement being that the list should be provided 24 hours before the abductees are released.

The truce was meant to have come into effect at 8.30am local time.

Hamas had blamed the delay on a ‘technical’ issue.

Israel hardline national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers have resigned over the ceasefire deal.

The Otzma Yehudit party is no longer part of the ruling coalition but has said it will not try to bring down Netanyahu’s government.

A Hamas official has said that the list of the names of hostages would be handed over ‘any moment’.

They blamed ‘complexities’ in Gaza and Israeli bombing for the delays.

At least eight Palestinians have been killed in Gaza this morning by Israeli military strikes, the Palestinian civil emergency service has said.

The IDF has been carrying out airstrikes amid the delay in the truce which would have paused 15 months of war.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said earlier the implementation of a ceasefire was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.

Under the first phase of the truce, 33 hostages are expected to be released over the next six weeks, including women, ‘children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded’.

In return, Israel will free between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The list of hostages due to be released as soon as Sunday includes Oded Lifschitz, an 84-year-old Israeli with family in Britain.

Daughter Sharone Lifschitz told the BBC from her east London home this week that she hoped her father was still alive.

‘Miracles do happen,’ she said.

Below is the list of 33 hostages set to be released that has been circulating on Israel media.

• Liri Albag,
• Itzhak Elgarat,
• Karina Ariev,
• Ohad Ben Ami,
• Ariel Bibas,
• Yarden Bibas,
• Kfir Bibas,
• Shiri Bibas,
• Agam Berger,
• Gonen Romi,
• Daniella Gilboa,
• Emily Damari,
• Sagui Dekel Chen,
• Iair Horn,
• Omer Wenkert,
• Alexandre Sasha Troufanov,
• Arbel Yehoud,
• Ohad Yahalomi,
• Eliya Cohen,
• Or Levy,
• Naama Levy,
• Oded Lifshitz,
• Gadi Moshe Mozes,
• Avraham (Avera) Mengisto,
• Shlomo Mantzur,
• Keith Samuel Sigal,
• Tsachi Idan,
• Ofer Kalderon,
• Tal Shoham,
• Doron Steinbrecher,
• Omer Shem Tov,
• Hisham Al-Sayed,
• Eli Sharabi

The IDF says it is continuing to ‘strike terrorist targets in Gaza’ amid the delay in the ceasefire.

The military said it is carrying out aircraft strikes in the northern and central areas.

Hundreds of Gazans were seen cheering and celebrating after 6.30am in the central city of Deir el-Balah, the time when the ceasefire was to come into effect.

Many were taking pictures on their mobile phones, clapping and hugging each other.

About 30 minutes later, footage showed a thick plume of grey smoke rising over northeastern Gaza.

According to the ceasefire agreement, the names of the list of hostages should have been provided 24 hours before the exchange – sometime after 4pm local time today.

Hamas says it is still committed to the deal but blamed ‘technical field reasons’ for it providing the names of the three people it planned to set free.

The deal comes in three stages the first six-week phase set to see more than 30 hostages released.

Israeli forces have also agreed to withdraw to the east away from the densely populated areas of Gaza as part of the deal.

British hostage Emily Damari will be released as part of the deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli media reports.

The 28-year-old has been held in Gaza since she was shot in the hand and leg when snatched from her home in southern Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Under a deal finally agreed this week, 33 hostages are expected to be released, including women, ‘children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded’.

Read the full story below.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari made the announcement in a televised statement this morning.

The IDF continues to strike within the Gaza area at this time. According to the prime minister’s directives, the ceasefire will not come into effect until Hamas fulfils its commitments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement this morning to say the 42-day ceasefire with Hamas had been delayed, just moments before the deal was due to come into effect at 6.30am local time.

It instructed the military not to begin the ceasefire.

Netanyahu warned last night the first phase of the deal would not go ahead until the terrorist group issued the list of hostages due to be released.