Mandy Damari, mother of Emily Damari who was freed after 470 days in captivity earlier this month, revealed on Friday that her daughter was held in UNRWA facilities in Gaza during her captivity. Damari made the revelation during a conversation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Mandy and Emily are British citizens. The mother posted to X a picture of she and Emily speaking to Starmer and wrote, “Thank you Keir Starmer for calling us today and all your support in getting Emily home. 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,” added Mandy Damari. According to Sky News , Emily told Starmer during the call that an out-of-date bottle was all that was supplied to her despite losing two fingers on her left hand, and carrying the unhealed wound in her leg. Emily and her mother asked Starmer to put maximum pressure on Hamas and UNRWA to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to have access to the 82 remaining hostages. 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," stated UNRWA. UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas and that criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered. Following the Israeli revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations. Related articles: Qatar files international court complaint against Israel 'Gaza is a failed experiment - we must take a new approach' 'US tax dollars should never fund terrorism' US to end UNRWA funding, withdraw from Human Rights Council The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues" in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations. On Thursday, two laws passed by the Knesset this past October, which limit UNRWA’s operations in Israel, went into effect. (Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
