The mother of the last remaining British hostage in Gaza says she wants "solutions, not sympathy" as she appeals to the government to help keep her daughter alive in captivity ahead of securing her release. British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was kidnapped on October 7 last year and has been a hostage for 426 days, her mother Mandy tells a press conference in London. Report by Blairm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00In Israel, I spend my time campaigning for a ceasefire deal that would see the hostages come home.
00:06I hope and pray that we can bring this war to an end, and that everyone's suffering can end along with it.
00:12Nobody wants peace more than I do.
00:15But this week, I came to Britain with a different message, and my message is this.
00:19A hostage deal may be weeks, months, or even further away.
00:23Meanwhile, their condition deteriorates every single hour.
00:27Much more needs to be done, and much more can be done, to keep Emily and the other hostages alive while they remain in captivity.
00:35Otherwise, they will all die the most painful and tragic deaths imaginable in the tunnels.
00:41Many already have, and words alone will not save those who still remain.
00:46Regrettably, not all of my experiences this week have generated positive momentum.
00:53On Monday, I spoke at the annual Labour Friends of Israel event in front of around 100 Labour MPs, including the Foreign Secretary.
01:02I used my time to specifically and repeatedly ask for action on the hostage aid situation, and I had estimated that my call to action had been well received.
01:12A few hours after my speech, however, the Foreign Secretary published a statement on the need for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza for the winter.
01:22But there was no mention of the need to get any of that aid to Emily and the other hostages, and no additional remarks have been made on the subject since then.
01:32I appreciate the Foreign Secretary's warmth in our personal meetings, but as I have said, I came for solutions, not sympathy.