When Rabbi Israel Weiss opens the doors of the refrigerated containers containing the bodies of victims of the deadly Hamas attack, the smell is unbearable, but above all he says he feels “their pain”.
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The former chief rabbi of the Israeli army came out of retirement to get involved in identifying the bodies of the more than 1,400 victims, mostly civilians, of the bloody attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7 against Israel.
Teams of doctors, dentists, forensic experts and volunteers are working around the clock to identify the bodies that continued to flood into the Shura military base near the town of Ramla in central Afghanistan on Sunday. Israel, eight days after the attack.
Hundreds of bodies are awaiting identification or burial in refrigerated containers lined up in the base, near a tent where teams are at work.
Four other identification centers have been established, according to officials.
During a visit organized by Israeli authorities on Sunday, part of the identification process in Shura was shown to journalists, as Israel massed its troops on the border with Gaza in preparation for an expected ground offensive.
Israeli reprisals have already killed at least 2,750 people in Gaza, the majority of them Palestinian civilians, according to local authorities.
“Horrors”
When the container doors open, the smell of death is unbearable. Masks are mandatory.
“I open the door of the refrigerated containers, I see the bodies, I smell the smell, I let it fill my lungs and my heart, but what I feel is their pain and their disappearance,” says Israel Weiss .
The rabbi and other members of his team who examined the bodies say many victims had been tortured, raped or otherwise mistreated. AFP was unable to verify their statements from an independent source.
“Never in my life have I seen such horrors,” adds the rabbi in front of containers, each containing up to fifty bodies wrapped in white body bags.
“I saw babies, women and men decapitated. I saw a pregnant woman whose belly was ripped open and the baby ripped out.”
“Many of the women (whose bodies) were brought here were raped,” adds Mr. Weiss.
Hamas, which lost around 1,500 fighters in the attacks according to Israel, has rejected the accusations.
The Israeli government has previously said that some children were tied up and burned, and that Hamas fighters threw grenades into shelters where some victims were hiding.
To identify victims, teams rely on DNA samples, fingerprints and dental records.
According to the authorities, nearly 90% of the 286 soldiers killed in eight days have been identified, but barely half of the civilians.
Challenging process
“Nothing could have prepared us for this,” said Staff Sergeant Avigayil, referring to the abuse inflicted on the victims’ bodies.
Like her, Captain Maayan, a dentist and reservist, burst into tears as she recounted the grueling process of identification.
“We see horrible things,” she said, also speaking of signs of torture and abuse. “We hear the screams and cries of babies who lose their parents.”
Mayaan said one of the victims she identified had been a patient at the Tel Aviv clinic where she works.
Psychologists and social workers are also involved in the operation to help the identification teams at the end of each day.
But the army, which claims that at least 199 people were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, warned that it would take weeks to have a definitive toll of the victims and identify them all.