Archaeologists Enlisted to Help Identify Remains of Massacred Israelis

Jerusalem, 7 November, 2023 (TPS) -- To resolve the fate of people still missing from Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli communities, archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority have been enlisted to help search for and identify the remains of massacre victims. Their efforts have so far led to the identification of 10 people who were unaccounted for.

For the last two weeks, archaeologists under the direction of Israel Defense Forces Maj. Rabbi Shlomo Hazut have been sent to locations such as Kibbutz Nir Oz, Kibbutz Kfar Aza and Kibbutz Be’eri where civilians were killed in their homes which were burnt down.

Other archaeologists were dispatched to Kibbutz Re’im, which was hosting a music festival where at least 260 people were killed. Numerous cars were torched with victims inside.

“The archaeological methods employed at ancient sites are similar to the methods applied here,” the Antiquities Authority said in a statement. “But it is one thing to expose 2,000-year-old destruction remains, and quite another thing—heart-rending and unfathomable—to carry out the present task searching for evidence of our sisters and brothers in the communities.”

At first, the archaeologists, who were divided into different teams, looked for evidence of missing people, who were known to be in their homes during the assault. But it became clear that the archaeological methods could contribute to identifying additional, previously not exposed, remains, and the archaeologists began examining the contents of all burnt homes and cars.

Some victims have already been buried, while other remains have been sent to Camp Shura, a military facility near Rehovot. The most difficult remains to identify are transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv.

“Taking into account all the difficulty and the emotional challenges involved, our hope is that we can contribute to the certain identification for as many as possible families, regarding the fate of their dear ones,” said Eli Eskosido, director of the Antiquities Authority.

More than 1,400 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, of whom 870 have been identified. The number of people confirmed being held hostages stands at 240.