Hamas confirmed on Sunday that 28-year-old Emily Damari, 23-year-old Romi Gonen and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher would be released on the first day of phase one of the hostage-ceasefire deal.
The deal will see 33 hostages released in the first phase in exchange for the release of security prisoners, humanitarian aid and an IDF withdrawal from some areas in Gaza.
Emily Damari, a now-28-year-old British-Israeli fan of the soccer team Tottenham Hotspur is set to be freed after over a year in Hamas captivity as part of the first phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal.
On the morning of October 7, Damari was abducted from her Kfar Aza apartment along with 37 other residents of her kibbutz.
Damari’s friend Bar Kislev told Israel’s Channel 12 that she saw Damari’s vehicle being driven around the Kibbutz at 11 am on the day of the invasion.
The terrorists "shot [her] in the hand,” and she was “injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza", according to her mother Mandy.
The invading terrorists murdered Damari’s dog Choocha, after they shot him in the back of the neck.
Damari grew up in southeast London but moved to Israel after falling in love to start a family, Sky News reported.
Mandy has campaigned in the United Kingdom and Israel and credited US President-elect Donald Trump for the latest agreement which may see her daughter’s return.
“President-elect Donald Trump, you have really made my dreams come true. A deal has been signed,” she told the Daily Mail.
“But it’s not over,” she continued. “My nightmare is still going on until I see Emily and all the other 98 hostages back in Israel with their families.”
Adam Rose, a lawyer representing the interests of British and British-linked hostages, told the Jewish Chronicle "I don't think there's yet any expectation of who will come out immediately. There's lots of rumors but I don't think anyone should rely on that at all.”
Despite news indicating Damari may soon be freed from Gaza, her mother told the BBC last month she feared Damari may be dead “And if she’s not dead, she’s not getting enough food to eat, she’s not able to wash herself, drink water, she could be ill.”
“She’s suffering from gunshot wounds to her hand and her leg… I worry every day, I worry every second because in the next second, she could be murdered, just because she’s there,” Mandy continued.
'She’s one of our own, she’s one of our own, Emily Damari, bring her home'
Before her abduction, Damari enjoyed watching soccer matches, watching Ed Sheeran concerts and shopping.
In honor of the young fan, historic soccer rival clubs fans for Spurs and Arsenal united in a demonstration to honor Damari on Wednesday. Yellow balloons were released on the 7th minute of the North London Derby.
At Tottenham, fans have been known to chant, “She’s one of our own, she’s one of our own, Emily Damari, bring her home.”
Mandy expressed, according to the Jewish News, “I am overwhelmed by the support that Arsenal and Tottenham fans want to show for Emily tonight. I always say that anyone who helps to share Emily’s story and do what they can in the campaign to bring her home is a part of our family.
“My dear husband, Emily’s father, was a football coach on our kibbutz, and he always said that football can bring the world together. He’s certainly been proven right today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I hope that Emily can be with you all at the next derby.”
"All Emily's mum Mandy wants to do is hug Emily. But she won't believe it until she sees it," a source close to the family told the BBC on Sunday after the family were informed of the news.
"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've no idea what condition they are in and there are other hostages who need to be released and need humanitarian aid to be kept alive. It's a long, long road ahead."