British hostage families hopeful after ceasefire deal

The family of Emily Damari, a British-Israeli citizen, is among those who have campaigned relentlessly for her release.

Her mother Mandy told the BBC last month she worried every second for her daughter, a Tottenham Hotspur fan who was taken from her home by Hamas gunmen.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday described the deal as “long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for”.

“The hostages, who were brutally ripped from their homes on that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally return to their families,” he said.

“But we should also use this moment to pay tribute to those who won’t make it home – including the British people who were murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the ceasefire “a moment of hope after over a year of agony”.

“For the hostages and their loved ones, including British citizen Emily Damari, and Eli Sharabi, Oded Lifschitz and Avinatan Or, this has been an unbearable trauma.

“For the people of Gaza, so many of whom have lost lives, homes or loved ones, this has been a living nightmare.”