The families of hostages freed under the long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday have spoken for the first time since their release.
British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, returned to Israel alongside Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, after what the family described as nearly 500 “tortuous days” in captivity.
Moving footage showed Ms Damari joyfully reuniting with her family as she held up her bandaged hand on a video call to other relatives.
Ms Damari’s mother Mandy spoke alongside Ms Gonen and Ms Steinbrecher’s family on Monday where she said her daughter was in “high spirits” and on the road to recovery.
It comes as Gazans have expressed their shock at the “total devastation” wrought on Gaza by 15 months of devastating war that has left more than 47,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gazan authorities.
“The amount of people feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it’s destruction, total destruction,” displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa, who returned to Rafah on Monday, said.
Key Points
- Families of first freed hostages to speak
- Palestinian rescue workers begin search for people under rubble
- UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
- In pictures: Tears of joy as 90 detained Palestinians return home
Trump not confident ceasefire in Gaza will hold
03:26
,
Namita Singh
Donald Trump said Hamas was weakened, but that he was not certain that the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas would hold.
“I’m not confident,” Mr Trump told reporters. “That’s not our war. It’s their war.”
He said that his administration “might” help rebuild Gaza, which he compared to a “massive demolition site”.
“Some beautiful things could be done with it,” said Mr Trump, the real estate developer turned commander-in-chief, noting the territory’s coastline and “phenomenal” weather and location.
“Some fantastic things could be done with Gaza. Some beautiful things could be done with Gaza.”
Trump rescinds sanctions on far-right Israeli settlers
03:15
,
Namita Singh
Among other Biden-era executive orders that President Donald Trump rescinded on Monday is one that authorises sanctions on people who undermine peace in the occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration used the executive order to impose a handful of sanctions on extremist settlers accused of using violence against Palestinians who live in the West Bank after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.
Settlers in the territory have celebrated the incoming Trump administration, believing it will take a more favourable approach to illegal settlements.
During his first term, Mr Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognising Jerusalem as its capital and moving the US Embassy there, and recognising Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.
Everything we know about the Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza
03:00
,
Alexander Butler
A year of war in Gaza: A timeline of key moments as ceasefire deal agreed
02:00
,
Alexander Butler
UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
01:00
,
Alexander Butler
More than 630 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said.
At least 300 of those trucks went to the enclave’s north, where the UN says famine looms.. The vehicles entered on the first day of a the ceasefire.
The average number of aid trucks entering Gaza in December, the month before the ceasefire, was 72, according to the OCHA. It was around 500 a day before the war started on 7 October.
Child ‘shot by Israeli sniper’ in Gaza
00:11
,
Alexander Butler
A Palestinian child has been shot dead by an Israeli sniper in Rafah, southern Gaza, despite a ceasefire coming into place on Sunday, according to reports.
Footage, which has not been verified, showed a man dragging the body of a child under the sound of gunfire, Al Jazeera reported.
Who are the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released under first phase of Gaza ceasefire?
00:01
,
Alexander Butler
The terrible cost of peace between Israel and Hamas: In numbers
Monday 20 January 2025 23:00
,
Alexander Butler
After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza
Monday 20 January 2025 21:53
,
Alexander Butler
Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 20:30
,
Alexander Butler
Netanyahu thanks Trump upon inauguration
Monday 20 January 2025 19:37
,
Alexander Butler
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked US president Donald Trump for helping free Israeli hostages.
Speaking after the 47th US president’s inauguration, Netanyahu said: “I believe that working together again we will raise the US-Israel alliance to even greater heights.”
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I also want to thank you for your efforts in helping free Israeli hostages.
“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
Mother of freed British-Israeli hostage personally thanks Trump
Monday 20 January 2025 18:34
,
Alexander Butler
The mother of freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, 28, has personally thanked US president Donald Trump for his role in overseeing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“On behalf of Emily and our family, there are so many people who deserve a special thank you for working to bring her home.
“To the soldiers who fought and gave their lives on 7 October and everyday since, to the Israeli government, President Biden and President Trump for making our dream come true,” Mandy Damari said.
Families of first freed hostages to speak
Monday 20 January 2025 18:19
,
Alexander Butler
The families of the first hostages released under the long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire are set to speak in a press conference for the first time since they returned to Israel.
British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was freed on Sunday alongside Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, after what the family described as nearly 500 “tortuous days” in captivity.
Moving footage showed Ms Damari joyfully reuniting with her family as she held up her bandaged hand on a video call to other relatives.
Ms Damari’s family, as well as Ms Gonen and Ms Steinbrecher’s, will speak outside the South Building of Safra Children’s Hospital at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, at around 6.15pm GMT.
Watch live: Family of freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari speak for first time after her release
Monday 20 January 2025 18:17
,
Alexander Butler
Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 17:30
,
Alexander Butler
Qatar pledges aid for Gaza as more trucks cross into the territory
Monday 20 January 2025 17:15
,
Tara Cobham
Qatar hasannounced plans to supply post-ceasefire Gaza with resources via a "land bridge" at Kerem Shalom, on the border between Egypt, Israel and the coastal Palestinian enclave.
After sending 25 fuel trucks to Gaza on Monday, Qatar plans to supply Gaza with 3.3 million gallons (12.5 million liters) of fuel over the next 10 days, its Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The fuel is intended to provide basic services and power hospitals and shelters.
Over the course of the 16-month war, the majority of aid has crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, although it has intermittently closed amid disagreements over what kind of aid can be allowed into the strip. Israel previously restricted entry of some equipment, arguing it could be used for military purposes by Hamas.
Allowing more aid into Gaza is a central tenet of the ceasefire deal's first phase and will be key to later reconstruction efforts. The deal allows for hundreds of trucks – more than Israel has previously allowed – to deliver aid to Gaza.
Egypt's state-run press center said Monday that at least 300 aid trucks entered Kerem Shalom and and the Nitzana crossing to the south since the ceasefire took effect, as well as 12 diesel trucks and four gas trucks.
However, some of those trucks have carried food aid labeled for UNRWA, the UN agency that Israel has vowed to ban from operating even as it remains the primary distributor of aid in Gaza.
Truck drivers told The Associated Press that throughout the war, vehicles have been turned back for minor bureaucratic infractions or not having aid properly packaged or wrapped.
"If items are approved, we unload them and head back to Egypt – Some trucks have to drive all the way back with packages they left with that contain expired food aid or that the driver's or truck information is not listed correctly," driver Hamdy Emad said.
Palestinians returning to Rafah find their homes destroyed
Monday 20 January 2025 17:00
,
Tara Cobham
Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah after the ceasefire found homes and neighborhoods flattened after eight months of Israel's military offensive.
"We found destruction, destruction," said Mohamed Abu al-Kheir, a Palestinian man who shelters in a tent in the city of Khan Younis. "There is nothing to live in. There is no furniture or anything."
Associated Press footage showed large swaths of Rafah turned into rubble. People were seen searching the remains of their homes. Others searched two military vehicles that Israeli forces left behind when they withdrew from the area.
"Who wants to live in such destruction? No one will come to live here," said Mahmoud Khamis, another Rafah resident whose house was destroyed.
Israeli soldier killed in West Bank
Monday 20 January 2025 16:45
,
Tara Cobham
The Israeli military has said a soldier has been killed and another seriously wounded in the West Bank.
The military declined to provide further details. Israeli media reported Monday that the soldiers' vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern West Bank overnight.
Hezbollah praises Gaza ceasefire as victory for Palestinian people
Monday 20 January 2025 16:33
,
Tara Cobham
The militant Hezbollah movement has praised the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a victory for the Palestinian people.
Hezbollah said in a statement issued on Monday that it was a partner in the Palestinian "victory," adding that the Lebanese group opened a front with Israel in which it paid a high price on top of losing its top commanders, including leader Hassan Nasrallah, and thousands of supporters.
Lammy tells Commons it was ‘deeply moving’ to see pictures of Briton’s reunion with her mother after release
Monday 20 January 2025 16:15
,
Tara Cobham
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said it was "deeply moving" to see pictures of British-Israeli Emily Damari being reunited with her mother after she was released from Hamas’ captivity.
Speaking ahead of making a Commons statement on Ukraine, Mr Lammy told MPs: "I want to begin by welcoming the release of Emily Damari.
"After 471 days of captivity, she has been brought home. It was deeply moving to see those pictures of Emily and her mother Mandy reunited. I pay tribute once again to all those who campaigned so tirelessly for this moment.
"The Government will continue to work closely with our partners to secure the release of all the hostages, to get aid into Gaza, and to see this deal implemented in full."
Longest-serving Palestinian inmate among prisoners to be deported under swap
Monday 20 January 2025 15:50
,
Tara Cobham
The longest-serving Palestinian inmate in Israeli jail, revered by militants as the "dean" of their prisoners, is among more than 200 Palestinians set to be deported under the Gaza ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap.
Nael Barghouti, 67, has spent 44 years incarcerated by Israel, more than any other Palestinian. Jailed in 1978 for killing an Israeli bus driver, he was freed in 2011 in a previous swap but re-arrested three years later and held ever since.
Israel has said that Palestinians who have been convicted of killing Israelis must be permanently deported if they are freed under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and will not be allowed to return to homes in the occupied West Bank.
Barghouti is one of 217 prisoners on a list from the Israeli justice ministry, cited by the Palestinian prisoners' association, of those to be sent abroad.
His wife Eman Nafe, herself a former prisoner who spent 10 years in Israeli jail accused of plotting a suicide attack, said she thought he might reject release if it meant being sent abroad: "I am sure he will refuse this," she told Reuters.
UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 15:33
,
Tara Cobham
More than 630 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council, with at least 300 of those trucks going to the enclave's north, where the UN says famine looms.
The trucks entered on the first day of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
Who was released on Sunday
Monday 20 January 2025 15:15
,
Tara Cobham
The first three hostages held by Hamas to be released were all women: Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
In exchange, 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli detention: 69 women and 21 teenage boys.
Many of the prisoners released on the first day of the ceasefire were recently detained by Israel and had not been tried or convicted.
Two killed including a child in Rafah, say Palestinian medics
Monday 20 January 2025 15:11
,
Alex Croft
Two people including a child have been killed in Rafah by Israeli forces, Wafa news agency cited medics as saying.
The two Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers in the central and southern areas of Rafah city, in the southern Gaza Strip, the agency reported. Eight citizens, including children, were also injured in Rafah.
It comes despite a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip coming into effect on Sunday.
In pictures: Attention starts to shift to rebuilding of Gaza after devastating 15 months of conflict
Monday 20 January 2025 15:00
,
Tara Cobham
A year of war in Gaza: A timeline of key moments as ceasefire deal agreed
Monday 20 January 2025 14:45
,
Tara Cobham
Just days before US president Joe Biden is set to leave office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal after 15 months of war in Gaza.
The Israeli cabinet approved the deal in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, which the Qatari prime minister announced as a three-phase agreement.
It took effect on Sunday and included the release of hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Three hostages held by Hamas have now been released, while 90 Paletinians held in Israeli jails were freed hours later.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly tried to secure a ceasefire ever since the conflict began on 7 October 2023, with both Israel and Hamas rejecting multiple draft proposals.
Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the most significant moments of the war since it began:
Watch: Released Palestinians say conditions in prison were ‘very difficult’ and ‘chaotic’
Monday 20 January 2025 14:30
,
Tara Cobham
Pictured: Palestinians rush to aid trucks making their way into Gaza after ceasefire takes effect
Monday 20 January 2025 14:13
,
Tara Cobham
Who are the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released under first phase of Gaza ceasefire?
Monday 20 January 2025 14:02
,
Tara Cobham
The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into effect after a delay in the list of 33 Israeli hostages due to be freed threatened to derail the truce.
Fighting finally stopped after an almost three-hour delay on Sunday, which saw continued airstrikes kill eight Palestinians and injure 25 others, according to medics in Gaza.
However peace began at 9.15am UK time, with the first three hostages freed later in the day amid emotional scenes.
On its official X account, the Israeli government posted a list of the 33 hostages it said were to be released. With 30 captives yet to be freed in the first phase, The Independent takes a look:
Daughter of hostage still held by Hamas says ‘there’s much more heartache to come'
Monday 20 January 2025 13:59
,
Tara Cobham
The daughter of an hostage who is still being held by Hamas has said “there’s much more heartache to come”.
Sharone Lifshitz, whose 84-year-old father Oded remains in captivity in Gaza, told the BBC that her father is on the list of 33 hostages who are set to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire deal – however, she does now know if he is alive, as she has heard no information about him for more than a year.
Speaking of the first thing she wants to say to her father, Ms Lifshitz said: “That I love him, that I miss him, that I am sorry that we could not get to him quicker.”
American journalist’s mother hopeful he will be found after he was captured in Syria
Monday 20 January 2025 13:51
,
Tara Cobham
The mother of American journalist Austin Tice has said she is hopeful that the new administrations in the US and Syria would help her find her missing son, who was taken captive during a reporting trip near Damascus about 12 years ago.
"Today, January 20, President (Donald) Trump will be sworn into office and I have great hope that his administration will work to bring Austin home," Debra Tice told a press conference in Damascus organized by the NGO Hostage Aid Worldwide.
Mr Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and other publications, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and was first captured in the Damascus suburb of Daraya the following year.
US officials have expressed concerns that Tice may have been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes or could have suffocated after Bashar al-Assad's forces cut off power to prisons in Damascus before he was overthrow in December by Syrian rebels.
Full story: ‘I’ve returned to my beloved life,’ freed British-Israeli hostage says after release from Gaza
Monday 20 January 2025 13:17
,
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew, in Tel Aviv, and Tara Cobham
British-Israeli national Emily Damari – among the first three hostages freed from Gaza by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel – says she has “returned to my beloved life” in the moving first comments she has made since her release.
Ms Damari, 28, was freed from 15 months in captivity on Sunday as the truce deal came into effect, with authorities reporting she had lost two fingers when she was taken from her home during Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.
In emotional remarks made hours after her release on Monday morning, Emily, who is a dual British-Israeli citizen, thanked her family and the large protest movement that campaigned for the release of the hostages.
Read the full story here:
Palestinian rescue workers begin search for people under rubble on day two of ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 13:00
,
Tara Cobham
A search is underway for thousands of Palestinians believed buried under rubble, the Palestinian Emergency Services has said, as Gaza's residents expressed shock at the devastation on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The truce in the 15-month-old war, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East, took effect on Sunday with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.
Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave, which the Israeli military has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023. That assault killed 1,200 people with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In the subsequent conflict, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's health ministry says.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services, said the search for as many as 10,000 bodies believed to be buried under rubble is underway in Gaza on Monday.
At least 2,840 bodies were melted and there were no traces of them, he said.
Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa lost his brother and nephew in the war.
"It was a big shock, and the amount [of people] feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it's destruction, total destruction. It's not like an earthquake or a flood, no no, what happened is a war of extermination," he said.
Live: View of destruction in Rafah on second day of ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 12:45
,
Tara Cobham
Gaza ceasefire offers ‘moment of hope’, UK Middle East minister to tell UN
Monday 20 January 2025 12:35
,
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew
The UK minister for the Middle East will visit the UN today to call for last week’s Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal to be implemented in full, describing the truce as offering a “moment of hope”.
Hamish Falconer is set to address the UN Security Council to emphasise the need to build confidence on all sides to help sustain the agreement – with a focus on transitioning into a lasting peace.
Minister Falconer will reiterate the foreign secretary’s position that the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) faces a “cliff edge” in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza, urging support for the delivery of lifesaving aid to Gaza once the borders open under the terms of the ceasefire.
Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer said: “The hostage ceasefire deal offers a moment of hope for the Israeli and Palestinian people. This intense diplomatic effort must continue in the days and weeks ahead.
“The UK is supporting efforts to improve the dire humanitarian situation and realise the ambition of the ceasefire. Lifesaving UK aid is positioned ready to enter Gaza and support those efforts once the crossings open under the terms of the ceasefire.
“The imminent implementation of the Knesset legislation against UNRWA will further exacerbate the dire humanitarian situation and impede the ambition of the ceasefire.”
In pictures: Displaced Palestinians walk among rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza
Monday 20 January 2025 12:21
,
Tara Cobham
Palestinian death toll from conflict reaches more than 47,000, says Gaza’s health ministry
Monday 20 January 2025 12:06
,
Tara Cobham
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel invaded Gaza on 7 October, 2023, Gaza’s health ministry has said.
In the latest figures released today, it said 47,035 Palestinians have been killed and 111,091 injured in the 15 months of conflict.
What will happen when hostages and prisoners are freed
Monday 20 January 2025 11:45
,
Tara Cobham
The hostages will be handed by Hamas to Red Cross officials who will take them to the Israeli military in Gaza. The military has set up three locations near the northern, central and southern edges of Gaza in Erez, Re'im and Kerem Shalom to take charge of the hostages, depending on the route they take out.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, buses on Sunday carried the first wave of released Palestinian prisoners to Ramallah.
Israel is also expected to release some Palestinian prisoners into Gaza. It will deport others to Egypt with the understanding that they will be settled in a third country, with Qatar, Turkey or Algeria as possible destinations, an official involved in the plans told Reuters.
Further three charged with public order and assault offences after London pro-Palestinian rally
Monday 20 January 2025 11:44
,
Tara Cobham
A further three people have been charged with public order and assault offences following a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
Benjamin Jamal, 61, of Kingston upon Thames, was charged with public order offences, including inciting people to fail to comply with conditions and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 21.
Jamila Zadran, 32, of East Ham, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker.
Luke Jacobs, 22, of West Hampstead, was charged with obstructing a police officer and criminal damage.
Jacobs will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday February 17 and Zadran on Wednesday February 19.
Two men aged 75 and 73 who attended voluntary interviews following the protest have been released pending further investigations, the CPS added.
Watch: Released Palestinians say conditions in prison were ‘very difficult’ and ‘chaotic’
Monday 20 January 2025 11:21
,
Tara Cobham