“People who know a little bit about medicine can understand from the pictures that the fact that I’m here today is a miracle,” Damari wrote.
By Shula Rosen
“People who know a little bit about medicine can understand from the pictures that the fact that I’m here today is a miracle,” Damari wrote.
Freed hostage Emily Damari released photos of the first hours of her captivity on Saturday, marking the third year on the Hebrew calendar since her abduction by Hamas.
“Three years ago at this time on Simchat Torah I was deep, deep in the Gaza Strip,” Damari wrote in a social media post recounting her treatment after she was abducted.
Damari said she was taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza with a gunshot wound to her hand and a shrapnel injury to her leg. Photos she posted show her shortly after her abduction while receiving treatment at the hospital.
She described being held in a blood-covered room with a corpse lying nearby and said a man who identified himself as “Dr. Hamas” approached her, accompanied by 10 armed men carrying Kalashnikovs.
“People who know a little bit about medicine can understand from the pictures that the fact that I’m here today is a miracle,” Damari wrote.
Damari said the injuries received inadequate treatment. Her leg continued bleeding for four months, while stitches that were supposed to be removed after two weeks remained in her hand for a full year.
She ultimately had two fingers amputated and underwent additional surgery on her hand after her release in early 2025.
Damari has previously described the treatment of her wounds in social media posts and media appearances, saying her leg was improperly stitched after she was injured, causing the wound to continue bleeding.
In March 2025, after undergoing corrective surgery on her hand, Damari said she learned after waking that she had lost two fingers. She also said her leg wound had been left open and received only four stitches rather than 16.
“For four months, my leg continued to bleed…[I had stitches] meant to be removed after two weeks that stayed in my hand for a full year, and here I am,” she wrote.
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