Former Hamas Hostage Emily Damari Marries Danielle Amit in Tel Aviv: Wedding Details and Her Remarkable Story

There’s a particular kind of relief in watching someone build an ordinary life after living through something unimaginable. That’s what unfolded in Tel Aviv on Thursday, when Emily Damari held hostage in Gaza for 471 days married her partner, food influencer Danielle “Dani” Amit.

A Wedding Full of Familiar Faces

The ceremony itself was intimate: family, close friends, and a dinner beforehand. Even the couple’s dog, Mayo, got to be part of the moment. But scattered among the guests were people whose presence carried its own weight: fellow former hostages Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, Liri Albag, Danielle Gilboa, Omer Shem Tov, Keith and Aviva Siegel, and twins Gali and Ziv Berman. These weren’t just wedding guests. They were people who understood exactly what Damari had come through, because they’d lived through versions of it themselves. The night stretched into dancing and celebration after the ceremony wrapped up. The couple got engaged back in January, timed to mark one year since Damari’s release Damari was the one who proposed. They’d gone public with their relationship in June 2025.

The Small Details That Made It Personal

Both brides wore custom gowns from Israeli designer Oria Azran Amit chose an off-the-shoulder lace dress with floral detailing and a flowing train. The most affecting moment reportedly came from Damari’s mother, Mandy, who spoke about how unthinkable this day once felt. During the worst of the captivity, she said, just picturing her daughter alive and safe again seemed like too much to hope for, let alone happy, and standing next to someone she loves. There was lighter stuff too: guests were asked to skip wearing red, since that’s the color of Hapoel Tel Aviv rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team Damari actually supports.

How She Got Here

Damari, who holds both British and Israeli citizenship, was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the October 7, 2023 attacks. She was shot in the assault and dragged into Gaza along with several of her neighbors, including the Berman twins. She wasn’t released until January 19, 2025 one of three hostages freed together with Gonen and Steinbrecher as part of the first phase of a ceasefire deal. Footage of her reunion with her family became one of the defining images of that release, followed closely in both Israel and the UK.

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Why People Are Paying Attention

For a lot of Israelis, this wedding isn’t just a celebrity milestone Damari’s story has become tied up with the broader emotional weight of the hostage crisis itself. Having other former hostages there, people who share that specific history, added something you can’t really manufacture. The conflict is still shaping daily life and politics in the region. Against that backdrop, a wedding like this lands differently, a small, real sign that life keeps moving forward, even after everything. It doesn’t undo what happened to her. But it says something about what can still come after: recovery, love, family, and the ability to picture a future again.

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