Archaeologists help IDF identify burned human remains from Israel's Gaza border communities

Since the unprecedented Hamas massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, the Israel Antiquities Authority has been assisting Israel Defense Forces in identifying human remains of the victims, perhaps its most challenging task ever.

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists have been working in Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip, going through the buildings that Hamas terrorists burned, and used for burning victims of the deadly assault.

IDF Colonel Yossi Cohen of the Gaza Division asked archaeologists to assist them with the challenging and time-consuming task to identify human remains, under the direction of Maj. Rabbi Shlomo Hazut, the IDF Gaza Division's rabbi.

The human identification work is being done in an effort to uncover the fate of the numerous Israeli families who were murdered in heavily destroyed border communities, such as Kfar Aza, Nir Oz and Kibbutz Be’eri. Many families of those killed during the attacks still don’t know with certainty whether their loved ones were murdered or taken hostage into the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists.

The archeologists noted that they use similar methods to identifying ancient sites. However, unsurprisingly, there are many more emotions involved in trying to identify remains of people who were murdered a month ago compared to destruction that took place 2,000 years ago.

“The archaeological methods employed at ancient sites are similar to the methods applied here, 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,” according to IAA archaeologists.

IAA Director Eli Escusido said he hopes his staff can make a difference in identifying as many human remains as possible, and to offer closure for the grieving families.

“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, Escusido said.

“I salute our archaeologists for their immediate agreement – by no means to be taken for granted – to take part in this difficult task. It is an honor and a great responsibility, that they are carrying out with great respect,” Escusido stated.

More than 2,000 Hamas terrorists broke through Israel's security fence in multiple sections on Shabbat morning of Oct. 7, which also marked a Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, when few IDF combat soldiers were present in the area.

The terrorists murdered at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign civilians before Israeli military and police forces were able to repel the attack by neutralizing Hamas terrorists and re-taking control of the Israeli communities.

During his interview on Monday with ABC News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will need to retain security control of the Gaza Strip for an “indefinite period.”  

“I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it… what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale we couldn’t imagine,” Netanyahu told ABC News host David Muir.

Netanyahu admitted that the government had failed in its responsibility to protect Israeli citizens living in Gaza border communities.

“The first responsibility of government is to protect the people and, clearly, that responsibility wasn’t met.”