Mrs Damari earlier sat on a sofa with the mothers of the two other freed hostages to watch on a phone the moment their daughters returned to Israel. In a statement issued shortly after it was confirmed she was back in the country, she said: "After 471 days Emily is finally home.

Three Israeli hostages released overnight from Gaza were reunited with their families on the first day of a long-awaited ceasefire aimed at ending more than 15 months of war that has ravaged the Palestinian territory.

Videos released by the Israeli military showed freed hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher being reunited with their mothers at an army center after they were released by Hamas. They were transferred to Sheba Hospital in Israel where they were listed in stable condition.

The British-Israeli national was also injured by shrapnel and saw her dog Choocha shot and killed on 7 October. She has now been named by Hamas as being among the first hostages it plans to release as part of the long-awaited ceasefire deal agreed with Israel.