British hostage Emily Damari ‘was held in UN building and denied medical treatment’

From the Telegraph

British-Israeli citizen Emily Damari has claimed that Hamas held her in UN facilities during her captivity in Gaza during a phone call with Sir Keir Starmer.

Emily and her mother Mandy spoke to the Prime Minister over the phone on Friday, telling him that she had been held in United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) facilities and denied access to medical treatment.

They also told Sir Keir that an “out-of-date bottle of iodine” was all that was provided to her during her 15 months in captivity, despite having lost two fingers from her left hand on Oct 7.

She was also “carrying an unhealed gunshot wound in her leg”, they said.

When Sir Keir inquired about Emily’s condition after her return, her mother replied that she “seems to be doing pretty well psychologically” although she will have a long “road ahead of her considering the physical injuries she sustained”.

Responding to Emily Damari’s comments about being held in a UN facility, Juliette Touma, the UNRWA communications director, told The Telegraph: “We at UNRWA are relieved that hostages have been released. We hope all other hostages are released as soon as possible.

“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.”

The Government reaffirmed its commitment to supporting UNRWA this week and emphasised that it had provided the agency with £41 million in funding this financial year.

Adam Wagner, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, said he had written to the Foreign Office to “request that the UK Government urgently investigate the allegation about a British hostage (and/or any hostage) being held in UNRWA facilities”.

Anneliese Dodds, the development minister, said this week that the “scale of suffering in Gaza cannot be overstated and the UN and its agencies, including UNRWA, must be allowed by Israel to do their vital work”.

Also on Friday, Hamas revealed the identity of three Israeli hostages set to be released by Hamas on Saturday in the next round of exchanges as it sent a list with names to the Israeli government. Hamas said that Yarden Bibas, 35, would be freed alongside Ofer Kalderon, 54, and 65-year-old Keith Siegel, who is also an American citizen, in a list of names handed to the Israeli government.

But as most Israelis noted, Mr Bibas’s two young sons and wife were not on the list, causing further worry that they are no longer alive.

Hamas has previously claimed Mrs Bibas and her two boys were killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis. Israel has not confirmed their deaths but has expressed “grave concern” over their wellbeing.

The family has become a symbol of the war for many Israelis.