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Inbar Rosenfeld, 28, a childhood friend of former hostage Emily Damari, 28, who was released from Hamas captivity on Sunday alongside Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, shared his experience meeting her at Sheba Medical Center. "It was incredibly emotional. I needed someone to touch me with a stick to believe it was real," Rosenfeld told Ynet.
Rosenfeld, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza and a lifelong friend of Emily, said that Emily's "brother called me and said she wanted to see me. Emily is still Emily — that's her personality. But there are many things that have changed. You can see it in her eyes and body language. There’s a significant change, naturally. Still, her humor and joking — that’s who she is and it’s what kept her going."
Rosenfeld addressed Emily’s 471 days in Gaza, saying: "She had some awareness, listened to a bit of radio and saw a little TV. She knew about her friends from Kfar Aza who were murdered but wasn’t fully informed. She was curious but only slightly connected to the outside."
Now the whole world knows that Emily lost two fingers due to terrorist gunfire on October 7. "It seems everything's okay, though she has injuries to her leg and hand. But like all of us, we're wounded on the inside. Those things aren't visible — they need time to settle," he said.
Emily’s mother, Mandy, shared the first photo of her daughter without the bandages on her fingers tht she returned with from Gaza. "Thank you to everyone in the UK and worldwide for the support campaign to bring Emily home," she wrote on X. "You’re amazing and we love you all. There are still 94 hostages who need us."
Emily, a British citizen, quickly became a symbol of resilience. Upon her release, she reportedly pushed one of the Hamas captors as she exited the vehicle at the Red Cross handover point. She also demonstrated her defiance in a phone call with her brother, showing him her amputated fingers.
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No signs of life were received from Emily during her captivity. On the morning of October 7, Hamas terrorists entered her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, killed her dog and abducted her. Her mother, Mandy, survived by hiding in her home. A bullet fired by the terrorist jammed the lock on the door to the room where she was hiding, preventing them from entering.