Freed British hostage tells Starmer that Hamas held her at United Nations facility and denied medical treatment

She claimed that Hamas terrorists held her at sites belonging to Unrwa, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, and said she was denied treatment after being shot in the hand and leg.

The 28-year-old recounted how her captors only gave her an out-of-date iodine bottle to treat her wounds.

Emily Damari spoke on the phone with Sir Keir Starmer

Reuters

When asked about Damari’s claims, Unrwa’s director of communications Juliette Touma said: "For many, many months we did not have access to several of our facilities.”

Speaking to the BBC, she added: "So the vast majority of our buildings were turned into shelters when the war started. At some point we had a million people in those shelters."

A spokesman for No10 has said they "welcome the fact that Unrwa have said there should be an investigation into the use of their facilities".

During the phone call, Damari also thanked the people in the UK who campaigned for her release.

The Israeli government has plans to ban Unrwa from operating

Reuters

Damari was among the first hostages released after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into place on January 19.

Since her release alongside two other civilian women, another five Israeli civilians and five female soldiers have also been released in this phase of the ceasefire.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

The October 7 attack ultimately triggered a 15-month war, with Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to crush the terrorists behind the attack.

According to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry - which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants - Israel’s offensive killed over 47,000 Palestinians.