Emily Damari 'the happiest woman in the world' after release, says mother Mandy

Mandy Damari, the mother of hostage Emily Damari, described her daughter as “the happiest woman in the world” after returning from over 15 months of captivity by Hamas in Gaza. 

“Yesterday, I finally got to hug Emily, as I had dreamed of for a long time,” she said. “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the people who contributed to the fight to bring Emily home and supported us during this time. As I've mentioned throughout, you're all an integral part of Emily's family.” 

“It was a great joy to see, along with the whole world, a glimpse of Emily's strength, determination and charisma at the time of her release. In Emily's own words – she is the happiest woman in the world; She got her life back.” 

Damari also spoke of the remaining hostages in Gaza and the need to bring them back home. 

“However, along with our great happiness, it is important to remember that Hamas still holds 94 other hostages,” she remarked. “The ceasefire must continue until the last of the abductees returns home.” 

Damari also shared that Emily is doing better than she expected. 

“With immense relief, I can share that Emily is now in a much better medical condition than we expected. 

She commented on Emily’s “extraordinary resilience” but noted that she still has a long road of recovery. 

“Emily is an example of extraordinary resilience, but her journey is just beginning,” she continued. “As you have seen, Emily has lost two fingers of her left hand, and she needs time and space to dedicate herself to rehabilitation with her family, friends and the medical staff that accompanies her.” 

Emily posted a message to her Instagram account on Monday morning celebrating her return and thanking friends and family. 

“Love, love, love, I thank God, I thank my family, Orieli, I thank the best friends I have in this world. I returned to my beloved life,” Emily wrote. “I was able to see only a little bit of everything and you shattered my heart with excitement. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The happiest thing in the world is simply to be.” 

Gal Kobani, a friend of Emily, spoke with Channel 14 about the moment she first saw Emily at the hospital after her return. 

"Our hearts were pounding. We sat and waited for her to come out. Of course, we received a thorough briefing on how to react and how to behave because of the sensitive situation," Gal related.

"When she came in, we screamed, jumped, and the emotion just burst out. Everyone was crying, and she was crying from excitement too. She was overwhelmed, but most importantly – we saw a smile on her face and tears of happiness. We had been waiting for this for so long, and it was truly the most exciting moment in the world.” 

"It was incredibly moving, crazy. Crying, tears, laughter – it was just fun. We met up with a few other friends, lifted her up in the air and were happy. She's really okay, and it's the most exciting thing in the world that this moment has finally arrived.” 

Mandy and Emily said that for the near future, they would prefer not to be interviewed, and asked that their privacy be respected as Emily begins the recovery process.