Former Hamas Hostage Shares Harrowing Photos from Gaza Hospital

Former Hamas hostage Emily Damari, who endured 471 days in captivity, has released previously unseen photographs taken at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital in 2023, shortly after her abduction. The images, discovered by the IDF during operations in Gaza, show Damari, disguised as a Gaza resident, on an operating table with Palestinian medics nearby. Damari shared details on Instagram about the conditions of her surgery and the subsequent care of her wounds during her captivity.

She described being in a "disgusting room full of blood" with a corpse nearby, and a "doctor" identifying himself as a Hamas doctor, accompanied by armed men. Damari stated that a gunshot wound to her leg remained open and bleeding for four months, while stitches on her left arm, meant to be removed in two weeks, stayed in place for a year. Her mother, Mendi Damari, recounted that her daughter received inadequate care for her injuries, being given expired iodine and bandages.

Damari recalled that her friend Gali Berman was with her when she was kidnapped on October 7th, having come to her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza for support. During her abduction, Damari sustained gunshot wounds to her right leg and left arm, and her dog, Chucha, was killed. At Al-Shifa hospital, two damaged fingers on her left hand were amputated. Her mother also mentioned that nerves in her damaged hand were sewn together, causing severe pain, and considered it a "miracle" that she did not develop a life-threatening infection.

In her October 3rd post, Damari expressed gratitude to her family, security forces, and fellow hostage Romi Gonen, with whom she was held. She also thanked the Israeli public for their continued efforts to secure the hostages' release. Damari was freed on January 19, 2025, along with Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, as part of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with Hamas. Notably, eight ministers voted against the deal that led to her release.