Kept in a cage, shot in the hand: British-Israeli hostage reveals horror of 471 days in Hamas captivity
A British-Israeli hostage kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attacks says she was kept in a "tiny cage" with "six" other people during her 471 days in captivity.
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Emily Damari, 29, had two of her fingers shot off by gunmen when she was kidnapped from her kibbutz, along with her best friends, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, 27.
She was one of the 251 people abducted by Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023. The same attack killed around 1,200 people and triggered the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
Her kidnappers then dragged her to a hospital in Gaza, where she underwent multiple complex surgeries on her fingers and had a bullet removed from her leg.
For the next 15 months, she was forced to live in the Hamas tunnels beneath the Strip and kept in cages that were "sandy, wet and crawling with cockroaches".
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Recalling her horrific experience for the first time, Emily told the MailOnline: "There was one cage, a very small cage, and there were five girls sat in the cage.
"They let you go to the bathroom once or twice a day – you have a hole in the ground. It stinks.
"It was stinky, hot, humid, damp. You don't get used to it. There is no running water, just a gallon jug with water in it.
"The battery lamps give you light, but it's a very low light. It makes your eyes water."
Emily was freed alongside 32 fellow hostages in a ceasefire deal in January, she was handed over to the IDF in Israel who confirmed all three of her brothers and her parents were alive.
Pictures of Emily staring into the faces of Hamas and smiling in defiance have become famous.
But some 50 hostages remain trapped by Hamas. Of those remaining, 20 are confirmed to be alive, including the Berman twins.
Earlier this week, US president Donald Trump, who helped secure Emily's release in January, said he should secure the release of ten more hostages "very shortly".
However, Mr Trump declared on Friday night that the latest Gaza ceasefire talks were on the verge of breaking down because Hamas "did not want a deal".
The US leader and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are being urged by Benjamin Netanyahu 'to do everything in your power to bring my Gali and Zivi home'.
She told the leaders: "You saved my life, now you must do the same for the last 50 hostages. Only then can we start to heal."
Israel launched its assault on Gaza in retaliation to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.
Its military campaign has since killed more than 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
These figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.