Revealed: Hostage Emily Damari was an Active Duty Border Police Officer When She Was Kidnapped

In a revelation cleared for publication today, Emily Damari, kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Be'eri's Dor Tza'ir neighborhood on October 7, 2023, successfully hid her elite military background from Hamas captors during 471 harrowing days in captivity, as reported by Ynet.

The 28-year-old, who served as a permanent Israel Border Guard (Magav) fighter with the rank of Sgt. Maj. in Hebron, kept her combat service a closely guarded secret, a detail now emerging as she continues recovery after her release in a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump.

The disclosure surfaced via a resurfaced April 2023 interview from ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's State Women's Conference, where Damari, then openly proud of her role, spoke on the "Fighters on the Frontline" panel about the grit required for women in combat units.

The clip, swiftly pulled offline after her abduction, captures her unyielding spirit: "You always need to prove ourselves a little more," she said of Magav, a unit where women make up 45% of personnel. "If I could, I would instruct female fighters specifically... they're here because they wanted to. The male fighters are there because they have to."

Damari credited her older brother Ben, a platoon commander in the Jerusalem Envelope, for igniting the family's military legacy. "He dragged all the other siblings after him," she recounted. Her younger brother Tom served in Golani before joining Magav permanently, while another brother operates in the unit's special forces.

Living in a Gaza Envelope settlement amplified her sense of mission: "I feel exactly the same as them, the mission, the desire." Her brothers backed her enlistment, though she stressed the grueling path: "You need to work very hard to get to Magav... it's very challenging."

She chose combat service to "develop and express ourselves, to realize all our potential," dismissing weakness in training: "Prove yourselves, give more... Don't show weakness."

On her English mother, Damari quipped, "Luckily she's English," cooler and less army-familiar, yet quietly worried.

The panel footage, photographed by Avigail Uzi, shows Damari alongside family photos of her Magav-serving siblings.

Her story aligns with others cleared post-release: Bar Kupershtein served Central Command logistics; Rom Braslavski was a Nahal Brigade fighter in Battalion 932. Rumors of Avinatan Or in Sayeret Matkal were debunked, he was in the now-defunct Sayeret Rimon, integrated into the Commando Unit in 2018. Earlier today, Yosef Chaim Ohana's father revealed his son hid his Givati Brigade fighter and commander role from captors.

Damari's deception underscores the captives' resilience amid over 250 abductions on October 7, which killed 1,200 Israelis and sparked a war claiming tens of thousands of lives. As phased hostage releases continue under the Trump-mediated truce, her tale of quiet defiance highlights the human cost and courage in Israel's ongoing saga.