Ex-hostage Emily Damari proposes to girlfriend at Gaza release anniversary

British-Israeli former Hamas hostage Emily Damari has announced her engagement to her partner, influencer Danielle Amit, after proposing during an event marking a year since her release from captivity in Gaza.

Footage shared on social media shows Damari proposing to Amit on 22 January at a private celebration held to commemorate her return from Gaza following the January 2025 ceasefire. The proposal was met with cheers and applause from friends gathered for the anniversary.

Damari was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023 and released on 19 January 2025. The anniversary event marked one year since her freedom.

Before proposing, Damari addressed guests and reflected on the emotional toll of captivity and separation from fellow hostages. She spoke about Gali and Ziv Berman, friends and neighbours from Kfar Aza who were kidnapped to Gaza and later freed.

“Before they came back, everything was different. I was torn up, sad and weak,” she said.

Damari, who holds both British and Israeli citizenship, has since become a prominent voice among former hostages speaking about the psychological impact of captivity and the lasting trauma faced by survivors.

She and Amit made their relationship public last year, several months after Damari’s release. In an interview at the time, Damari said she concealed her sexuality while in captivity, explaining that her being gay would have been “worse than them knowing I was Jewish or Israeli.”

The engagement has been widely welcomed across Jewish communal and Israeli social media, with supporters describing it as a moment of hope and resilience after more than a year defined by trauma.

For many in the British Jewish community who followed Damari’s captivity and release closely, the announcement marked a rare note of joy – a milestone of survival, love and rebuilding after 7 October.