Nir Oz – AFP

Until last month, Moshe Ajami had been working on human remains dating back centuries or thousands of years, but the Israeli archaeologist now has the daunting task of finding and examining the remains of people killed in the October 7 Hamas attack.

Ajami, deputy director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: “An archaeologist usually works outdoors, in the open. We dig up ancient artifacts.” But the mission was unlike anything he had experienced in his life, as he and his team wandered through the burning houses of kibbutzim, particularly in Nir Oz near the Gaza Strip, where about 30 people died and 70 were taken hostage.

About 1,200 people have been killed in Hamas attacks on southern Israel, with Israeli officials on Friday reducing the death toll to 1,200, putting the death toll at 1,400. From Militants… “Rebellion”.

After the attack, the police and the ZAKA organization, which specializes in collecting human remains, quickly began a more complex identification process and went through the destroyed kibbutzim.

More than a month after the outbreak of war, some 21 people are still missing because their deaths have not been confirmed, or they are unaccounted for, among the roughly 240 hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza.

“Someone in the army thought it would be useful to call the Israel Archaeological Commission, whose expertise is in finding human remains and skeletons, including cremations,” Ajami says.

The archaeologist and his team are currently examining the earth and ashes at the kibbutz, and they have discovered the remains of 60 people, ten of whom have been identified and buried. He explained: “It’s a strange task, finding the skeletons of the missing in this hell, especially with explosions and bombings around us 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” adding: “But we haven’t stopped. For a moment.”

The method of work is very similar to classical archaeological excavation. Ajami explains that archaeologists’ expertise allows them to “identify a small piece of bone” to identify the remains of the dead.

Archaeologist Ari Levy said: We divided the house into several sections and began the excavation. The burned rooms were dissected and the ashes and dirt taken from the houses were sifted for bone and tooth remains.

Families are asked if their relatives have any metal implants, prostheses, or jewelry other than teeth that could help identify the remains.

The Israel Antiquities Authority plans to use drones, lasers and other technologies to reconstruct high-resolution 3D images of the attack’s scenes.