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The families of the British hostages held in Gaza say they are full of “fear and anxiety” before Sunday's ceasefire, when the first three captives are likely to be released.
It is set to begin at 8.30am on Sunday, with Israel agreeing to release 737 Palestinian detainees in the first phase. In return, Hamas has agreed to release three female hostages on the first day, four on the seventh day, and another 26 over the subsequent five weeks – they will include children, the sick and elderly.
It is understood that British hostage Emily Damari, from London, could be one of the first of 33 captives scheduled for release, although there has been no official confirmation.
Ms Damari, 28, moved to Israel in her 20s and was taken from her home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas on October 7, 2023. She has been in captivity for 470 days.
A group campaigning for the release of Ms Damari and other hostages, Bring Our Daughters Home, said they were apprehensive before the ceasefire.
“Tomorrow feels heavy on my heart. Fear and anxiety are consuming me, and I can’t stop thinking about what might happen,” the group posted on social media site X.
“I’m holding on to hope and praying with everything I have. Please, join me in this prayer – for every daughter, every hostage, to return home safely, alive, and into the arms of their families.
“They’re not just numbers; they’re someone’s world, someone’s everything. Let’s not stop believing in the power of our prayers.”
Earlier this week, Emily's mother Mandy Damari, who is in Israel waiting for news of her daughter, paid tribute to Arsenal and Tottenham football fans who wore yellow ribbons at their derby game calling for the release of all the hostages.
“So grateful to all the Arsenal and Spurs fans supporting Emily tonight at the North London Derby,” she said.
“I know that you don’t agree on very much, which makes it even more special that you have come together to say Bring Her Home. Thank you.”
The families of British citizens killed in the conflict have expressed “cautious optimism” over the ceasefire, warning “there will never be any closure” until all Israeli hostages are returned.
Stephen Brisley, whose sister Lianne Sharabi was killed with her daughters Noiya and Yahel, said there have already been “so many false dawns”. His brother-in-law Eli Sharabi is one of the hostages.
“It’s still difficult to believe that it’s happening. Because there have been so many false dawns, there’s still that part of me that isn’t really allowing myself to believe it still, despite the fact that it’s been formally announced,” he said.
“We still don’t know exactly what the framework of it is, exactly what the rate is they’ll be released, in what order, and if it is spread out over the course of six weeks. Six weeks is a long time, a lot can happen.
“There are still many moving parts that could very easily fall apart but, obviously, it is that bit of joy that we’ve been looking for, that light at the end of the tunnel.”
He admitted he was unsure whether his brother-in-law was still alive.
A UK Foreign Office representative told The National: “The announcement of a ceasefire agreement is a moment of hope after over a year of agony, following Hamas’s appalling attack on 7 October 2023. For the hostages and their loved ones, including British citizen Emily Damari, and Eli Sharabi, Oded Lifschitz and Avinatan Or, this has been an unbearable trauma.”
On Saturday, Bring Them Home Now, a group representing the families of the 98 hostages, called for all phases of the ceasefire deal to be carried out “swiftly”.
“This is just the first step – we won't end until the last hostage returns,” they said.
“This represents a significant and crucial advancement that brings us closer to the moment when we will see all hostages return home – the living to rehabilitate among their families, and the deceased for proper burial.
“This unconscionable tragedy must end now. We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are implemented, and emphasise that negotiations for the next phases must begin before day 16. Now, after 470 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones.”
The brothers of British Israeli woman Ayelet Svatitzky, originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, were killed and her mother, Channah Peri, 79, was taken hostage and freed a year ago.
She said families' worries will still persist “until the last hostage is home”.
“There will never be any closure for us until all the hostages are back,” she said.
Adam Ma'anit, who lives in Brighton, said his cousin Tsachi Idan was on the list of hostages set to be released in the opening phase.
“I think I'm feeling every spectrum of human emotion all at once, in the sense that I am incredibly anxious, filled with trepidation, but also optimism,” he said.
Hamas has previously said in a video that Mr Idan was dead. “There's no intelligence to say that he's dead, let's put it that way, other than Hamas claiming he is without showing us any evidence of it,” Mr Ma'anit said.
“And so since January 2024 we've been operating under the assumption, perhaps naively, perhaps stubbornly, perhaps overly optimistically, but doggedly so that he's still alive. We still hope that's the case.”
Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least 46,899 Palestinians have been killed and 110,725 people injured since the conflict began.
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
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From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
SHAITTAN
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About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
