A celebration of life and love
Former hostage Emily Damari has married partner Dani Amit in Tel Aviv, surrounded by family, friends and fellow survivors.
For 471 days, Mandy Damari wasn’t sure she would ever see her daughter again. On Thursday night in Tel Aviv, she watched Emily stand beneath a chuppah beside the woman she loves.
“There are moments in a parent’s life when you look at your child and realise just how far they have travelled, and tonight, looking at Emily standing beside Dani, is one of those moments,” Mandy Damari said.
Former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari married her partner Danielle “Dani” Amit in a celebration that brought together the people who had walked alongside her through the darkest chapter of her life and into a new one.
The evening began with an intimate dinner for family and close friends before the couple exchanged vows. Their dog, Mayo, joined them beneath the chuppah alongside their families, before the ceremony gave way to a night of music, dancing and festivities.
Among those celebrating with the couple were several of Damari’s fellow former hostages, including Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, Liri Albag, Danielle Gilboa, Omer Shem Tov, Keith and Aviva Siegal, and Gali and Ziv Berman.
On October 7, 2023, Damari was shot in the hand and leg during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where she was born and raised. She lost two fingers. Her dog, Choocha, was killed in her arms. She was taken hostage alongside twins Gali and Ziv Berman, and held for 471 days, at times confined with up to six other female hostages in a space measuring roughly two by two metres.
She was released on January 19, 2025 alongside Gonen and Steinbrecher. Images of Damari raising her bandaged hand upon her return to Israel were seen around the world.
In the months that followed, as Damari began rebuilding her life, she met Amit, an Israeli food influencer and content creator. The couple confirmed their relationship publicly on June 1, 2025 and became engaged in January this year, marking one year since Damari’s release.
Both brides wore designs by Israeli fashion designer Oria Azran. Amit chose an off-the-shoulder lace gown with long sheer sleeves and a flowing train, while Damari wore an ivory double-breasted suit with wide-leg trousers.
The invitation came with one firm request: no red, not even red lipstick. Damari’s well-known dislike of the Israeli football team whose signature colour is red meant the shade was firmly off the table.
In her speech at the celebrations, Mandy Damari spoke of what the night meant after everything her family had endured.
“Because there was a time when I wasn’t sure I would ever see Emily again,” she said. “For 471 days, she was held in captivity. And during those endless days and nights, there were moments when the thought of standing here tonight, seeing my daughter alive, safe, happy, and standing beside the person she loves, would have been impossible to imagine.
“So Danielle, you can probably understand why tonight means more to me than just a wedding. It is a celebration of life. Of love. Of hope. And of a future that, for a very long time, I wasn’t sure Emily would have.”
She continued, “You fought so hard to survive, Emily. You fought for your life when you were in captivity, and you fought your way back to us. And today, seeing you here, alive, happy, and beginning this new chapter is something I will never stop being grateful for.
“Watching the two of you together, I can see something very precious: the way you make each other laugh, the way you support and encourage each other, and the way you seem to make each other feel completely at home.
“Tonight, I don’t want to look back at the 471 days. I want to look forward to all the days ahead.”
Damari has said her greatest hope is to be a good mother and to build a happy, meaningful life with Amit.