Israel-Gaza latest updates: Brit Emily Damari is among first hostages set to be released today after Benjamin Netanyahu warns ceasefire will be ‘temporary’

A lawyer for the family of the last remaining British hostage Emily Damari said there has been no ‘independent verification’ that she will be released.

It comes after she was named by Hamas as one of three hostages set to be freed on Sunday.

Lawyer Adam Rose told Times Radio: ‘No we’ve not had any independent verification. I’ve seen what’s out in public, I’ve been in touch with the family, but not had specific confirmation yet no.’

He said Ms Damari’s family are in an ‘impossible position’, adding: ‘Their daughter, their only daughter, now 28, was taken from her home on October 7 2023, she was injured in the process, and their world’s just been turned upside down while they’re waiting to find out what’s happened to their daughter.’

An Israel official has told Reuters they have the names of the first hostages set to be freed.

Hamas confirmed in a post on Telegram the names of the three women who it says will be freed first.

They are Brit Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher.

Emily, 28, is the only remaining British-Israeli captive still held in Gaza.

She was shot in the hand and leg when she was snatched from her home in southern Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Emily was in her own flat in the kibbutz when Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel, killing some 1,170 people and taking 251 hostage.

Hostages released in the November 2023 truce told her mother, Mandy, how her daughter showed ‘bravery and courage’, singing ‘It’s a Great Morning’ every morning ‘despite the darkness’.

Ms Damari spoke at the official anniversary event commemorating the October 7 massacre in Hyde Park, London a year after Hamas’ deadly incursion, addressing a large crowd who had turned out in support.

Speaking publicly for the first time about her daughter, she said that she felt like her daughter had been ‘forgotten’ in captivity.

Mediators have told Israel that they have received the list of three hostage names set to be freed today – which includes Briton Emily Damari, according to Sky News.

Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher are the other two civilians on the list.

A Hamas armed wing spokesperson made the announcement in a post on Telegram, writing: ‘As part of the… prisoner swap deal, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, decided to release the following Israeli prisoners today.’

It is not yet known if the ceasefire will go ahead today as planned as part of the agreement being that the list should be provided 24 hours before the abductees are released.

The truce was meant to have come into effect at 8.30am local time.

Hamas had blamed the delay on a ‘technical’ issue.

Israel hardline national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers have resigned over the ceasefire deal.

The Otzma Yehudit party is no longer part of the ruling coalition but has said it will not try to bring down Netanyahu’s government.

A Hamas official has said that the list of the names of hostages would be handed over ‘any moment’.

They blamed ‘complexities’ in Gaza and Israeli bombing for the delays.

At least eight Palestinians have been killed in Gaza this morning by Israeli military strikes, the Palestinian civil emergency service has said.

The IDF has been carrying out airstrikes amid the delay in the truce which would have paused 15 months of war.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said earlier the implementation of a ceasefire was delayed as Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel the list of hostages to be released on the first day.

Under the first phase of the truce, 33 hostages are expected to be released over the next six weeks, including women, ‘children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded’.

In return, Israel will free between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The list of hostages due to be released as soon as Sunday includes Oded Lifschitz, an 84-year-old Israeli with family in Britain.

Daughter Sharone Lifschitz told the BBC from her east London home this week that she hoped her father was still alive.

‘Miracles do happen,’ she said.

Below is the list of 33 hostages set to be released that has been circulating on Israel media.

• Liri Albag,
• Itzhak Elgarat,
• Karina Ariev,
• Ohad Ben Ami,
• Ariel Bibas,
• Yarden Bibas,
• Kfir Bibas,
• Shiri Bibas,
• Agam Berger,
• Gonen Romi,
• Daniella Gilboa,
• Emily Damari,
• Sagui Dekel Chen,
• Iair Horn,
• Omer Wenkert,
• Alexandre Sasha Troufanov,
• Arbel Yehoud,
• Ohad Yahalomi,
• Eliya Cohen,
• Or Levy,
• Naama Levy,
• Oded Lifshitz,
• Gadi Moshe Mozes,
• Avraham (Avera) Mengisto,
• Shlomo Mantzur,
• Keith Samuel Sigal,
• Tsachi Idan,
• Ofer Kalderon,
• Tal Shoham,
• Doron Steinbrecher,
• Omer Shem Tov,
• Hisham Al-Sayed,
• Eli Sharabi

The IDF says it is continuing to ‘strike terrorist targets in Gaza’ amid the delay in the ceasefire.

The military said it is carrying out aircraft strikes in the northern and central areas.

Hundreds of Gazans were seen cheering and celebrating after 6.30am in the central city of Deir el-Balah, the time when the ceasefire was to come into effect.

Many were taking pictures on their mobile phones, clapping and hugging each other.

About 30 minutes later, footage showed a thick plume of grey smoke rising over northeastern Gaza.

According to the ceasefire agreement, the names of the list of hostages should have been provided 24 hours before the exchange – sometime after 4pm local time today.

Hamas says it is still committed to the deal but blamed ‘technical field reasons’ for it providing the names of the three people it planned to set free.

The deal comes in three stages the first six-week phase set to see more than 30 hostages released.

Israeli forces have also agreed to withdraw to the east away from the densely populated areas of Gaza as part of the deal.

British hostage Emily Damari will be released as part of the deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli media reports.

The 28-year-old has been held in Gaza since she was shot in the hand and leg when snatched from her home in southern Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Under a deal finally agreed this week, 33 hostages are expected to be released, including women, ‘children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded’.

Read the full story below.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari made the announcement in a televised statement this morning.

The IDF continues to strike within the Gaza area at this time. According to the prime minister’s directives, the ceasefire will not come into effect until Hamas fulfils its commitments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement this morning to say a ceasefire with Hamas had been delayed, just moments before the deal was due to come into effect at 6.30am.

It instructed the military not to begin the ceasefire.

Netanyahu warned last night the first phase of the deal would not go ahead until the terrorist group issued the list of hostages due to be released.