Three years after being abducted to the Gaza Strip, Hamas captivity survivor Emily Damari published photographs from her captivity on Saturday, showing her injured at Shifa Hospital.
Alongside the images, Damari recalled the first hours after her abduction and the medical treatment she received in Gaza, writing: "Anyone who knows a little about medicine can understand that the fact that I'm here is a miracle."
In a post on her Instagram account, Damari described, "Three years ago, at this very hour on Simchat Torah, I was deep, deep inside the Gaza Strip."
Damari said she was abducted together with Gali Berman, whom she described as "the best friend I could ever ask for," noting that he had come to be by her side during the most difficult moments, "in the most frightening moments of my life. In the moments when I rediscovered the meaning of the expression 'scared to death.'"
The photographs Damari published show her at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
She described, "I will never forget. I'm in a disgusting room covered in blood, a dead body on the floor next to me. A 'doctor' approaches and introduces himself as Dr. Hamas, and with him are ten other monsters carrying Kalashnikovs pointed at my head, and I'm just praying to God to protect me in this situation."
Damari also shared that her leg continued bleeding from an open gunshot wound for four months. The stitches in her hand, which she said should have been removed after 14 days, remained in place for an entire year.
"Four months during which my leg kept bleeding inside Gaza with an open gunshot wound. Stitches that should be removed after 14 days remained in my hand for 365 days. And here I am," she wrote.
Later in the post, Damari thanked those she said had helped her survive.
"Thank you to the Holy One, blessed be He, thank you to my family, thank you to the security forces for a true miracle, thank you that I survived the worst of all with the help of everyone who was there with me, and especially the one and only Romi Gonen!"
She also thanked the public "who never stopped fighting for us for even a moment, so that we could return, embrace you, tell you our stories, and recover together with you forever."
"I love you, and more than anything, I love life," Damari concluded, adding the date: "Simchat Torah 5787."