BRAVE British hostage Emily Damari has spoken out for the first time since she was released by Hamas.
The 28-year-old said she is “the happiest person in the world” in the first Instagram post after 15 months in captivity.
Emily showing her bullet-ravaged hand after here release
Emily shared a photo with her mum Mandy after her 15-month ordeal
PAEmily reunited with her month after 15 months[/caption]
ReutersEmily pictured surrounded by Hamas terrorists as she gets out of the van during her release[/caption]
She wrote: “I’m loving, loving, loving. Thanks be to G-d. Thanks to my family, to Oreli, to the best friends I have in this world. I have returned to life, my loved ones.
“I have managed to see just a tiny bit of everything, and you have shattered my heart from emotion. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am the happiest person in the world, just to be.”
At the end of her post she signed with a “rock on ” emoji symbolising her two missing fingers she lost the day she was shot in the hand by Hamas.
Spurs fan Emily was among the first three captives to be freed from a list of 33 due for release over six weeks.
Dramatic footage showed her being surrounded by masked gun-wielding terrorists as she got out of the van alongside Israeli captives Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31.
Horrific footage by mask-wearing crowds surround the van as the three women were about to be transferred to the Red Cross and released back to Israel.
The three victims were picked up by the International Committee of the Red Cross team before being handed over to IDF troops on Sunday at 5.40pm local time (3.40pm in the UK).
They then arrived at a reception point in southern Israel where the three had an emotional reunion with their mothers who they haven’t seen or spoken to in 15 months.
Emily was shot in the hand and suffered shrapnel wounds to the leg when she was snatched from the Kfar Aza kibbutz village on October 7.
Her London-born mum Mandy, 63, released a heartwarming statement following the return of her beloved daughter, confirming “Emily is finally home”.
Mandy Damari said: “After 471 days Emily is finally home.
“I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name.
“In Israel, Britain, the United States, and around the world. Thank you for bringing Emily home.”
Every morning since her daughter was snatched, Mandy has given her daughter an imaginary hug and sent her a virtual message to “keep strong, keep alive,” telling her “you are going to be okay”.
She has described the past 15 months as “a nightmare, living a life like this.”
Emily grew up in southeast London before moving to Israel in her 20s.
RexEmily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher were the first three hostages to be released[/caption]
The three women were handed over to the Red Cross
One of the women, apparently Romi Gonen, was then seen tightly hugging an official
The trio were the first among 33 Israeli hostages who are meant to be released in the coming six weeks in a deal that includes a pause in fighting, the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and increased fuel and aid deliveries for Gaza.
The ceasefire was set back by a few hours on Sunday after intense last-minute negotiations and a near-collapse of the deal.
Four more hostages will be returned on the seventh day then every week for a period of four weeks.
The next release of hostages and prisoners is due Saturday.
Finally, 14 hostages will be returned in the sixth week from the group of 33 made up of 12 women and children, 10 men over the age of 50 and 11 younger men.
Negotiations will start again to secure the release of 65 hostages still in Gaza on the 16th day of the ceasefire.
Israeli hostage Romi Gonen, 24, has also been releasedReuters
Doron Steinbrecher, 31, is the third woman on the list who was freed on Sundaybringthemhome
People watch a live stream on big screen that reports on the release of three Israeli female hostages
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