Final missing person from Oct. 7 attack declared dead after lengthy search for remains

After 304 days since the Oct. 7 invasion and massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel, the last "missing person" was official declared dead.

On Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces announced that Bilha Yinon (76) was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the terror attack last year.

Yinon was previously listed as "missing" with her fate "unknown" but it was discovered that she was murdered with her husband Yaakov in their home in Netiv HaAsara on Oct. 7 when Palestinian terrorists infiltrated their community with paragliders and set their home on fire.

Initially, Yinon was declared dead by Israeli authorities, however, there was not enough conclusive evidence and it was uncertain whether she had in fact been killed.

“Bilha Yinon was the last person designated as missing since October 7th. Since the start of the war, the IDF and specifically the Manpower Directorate, have conducted an extensive investigative effort via different teams in various fields to determine Yinon’s fate," the IDF said in a statement.

“A Ministry of Health committee of experts, consisting of representatives from the IDF investigative team, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police and in cooperation with the Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef, based on a combination of findings, determined that Bilha Yinon was murdered on October 7th.”

The process leading to the identification was long and difficult. The identification of her remains was made with the help of an archaeological team from the Israel Antiquities Authority, led by Dr. Ayelet Dayan, as well as the fire investigation team, led by Chief Warrant Officer Erez Shtir.

“I examined the fire's origin," Shtir told Ynet News in May. “Fire has its own language based on 'burn patterns' of soot, which indicate the fire's origin, intensity, and cause – whether it was arson, a rocket hit, or an explosive device. The closer you get to the fire's origin, the more prominent the soot patterns become.”

“We had no doubt that mom was murdered along with dad. For us, it was clear she was killed, but the army continued searching for evidence. A few weeks ago, they identified new findings near our parents' home – two teeth that were conclusively identified as mom's, alongside other circumstantial evidence,” said Yinon's daughter Mor.

“We were still surprised that after 10 months, they found teeth in a place we had already cleaned and cleared of debris. We had been there many times. Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and biologists were constantly searching, but we didn't expect to find anything new.”

Mor said that the family continues to deal with the trauma of what Israeli citizens refer to as the "Black Shabbat."

“This provides some closure for some of the children and grandchildren, but less so for us. We think about mom and dad every day and relive October 7.”

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian terrorists and accomplices killed at least 1,200 people abducted over 250, living and deceased, into Gaza on Oct. 7.

The IDF estimates that 115 hostages remain in Gaza, with only 74 believed to be alive.