The mother of the only British-Israeli hostage held by Hamas has described her growing fears for her daughter’s life after more than 400 days in captivity.

Emily Damari, 28, was taken by Hamas from her home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

“I fear she is dead,” her mother Mandy told the BBC in her first television interview. “And if she’s not dead, she doesn’t have enough to eat, she’s not able to wash herself, drink water, she might be sick.”

“She has gunshot wounds to her hand and leg…I worry every day, I worry every second because in the next second she could be murdered, just for being there. “

Surrey-born Mandy Damari called on the UK government to do more to ensure humanitarian supplies reach the hostages while negotiations continue for their release.

She also welcomed US President-elect Donald Trump’s statement that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released before he took office in January: “It made me a little more optimistic.

Hamas gunmen shot Emily and killed her dog when they attacked Kibbutz Kfar Aza almost 14 months ago.

Mandy also hid when Hamas stormed her home and was only saved when one of the bullets blocked the lock of the room she was hiding in.

Around 1,200 people were killed that day, while Emily and 250 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months working on a deal to secure the release of the remaining 97 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza. But negotiations have stalled, with Hamas and Israel blaming each other for the impasse.

Without directly mentioning Hamas or Gaza, Donald Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social: “Everyone talks about the hostages being held so violently, inhumanely and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East – but these are not only words. , and no action!”

“If the hostages are not released before January 20, 2025, when I am proud to assume office as President of the United States, there will be HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those responsible who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity,” he warned.

Ms Damari said the message “gave me some hope that maybe someone really cares about what’s going on out there”.

“Someone has to do something and take strong action to get them released.” And it’s the strongest thing I’ve heard people say in a long time.

She said she hoped Trump would do everything in his power to get her daughter and the other hostages freed.

Ms Damari – who describes her daughter as a Spurs football fan who loves coming to the UK to visit family, go shopping and visit pubs – is disappointed with the British government.

She is currently in the UK meeting political leaders, including the Prime Minister.

But she characterized the government’s recent decision to support a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as not doing enough to secure the release of the hostages. The plan effectively demanded their release, but the United States vetoed it, saying it did not make it a precondition for a ceasefire.

“I really felt like they were stabbing me in the heart. There were no preconditions for releasing the hostages… It was basically signing a death warrant for her (Emily), because if there is a ceasefire without releasing the hostages, the hostages will stay there forever,” Ms. Damari said.

Now she wants them to do more.

“I really need the British government if they cannot release her immediately, at least to get her humanitarian aid or some sign of life, and to let me know what is happening, because I am desperate need a sign of life.

She added: “We talk about humanitarian aid in Gaza all the time, but I don’t hear about humanitarian aid for the hostages who are being held in despicable conditions. I desperately need humanitarian help so someone will see it. It is a human right to allow people to see what is happening to him.

At first, Ms. Damari did not speak publicly about her daughter because she trusted governments and negotiators to free her. But she now wants the British public to understand that a dual nationality is held.

“She’s the only British hostage being held… and I want people to help me get her out, to be her voice because she can’t speak for herself. She can’t has no voice.

More than 44,500 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in response to the October 7 attack, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.