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Meet the Scientist Helping to Identify Israel’s Oct. 7 Victims
An aerial view shows the bodies of victims of an attack following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip lying on the ground in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg
The process of identifying the bodies of the more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, killed by Hamas terrorists across southern Israel on Oct. 7 has been grueling and required innovative techniques to bring closure to families. Due to the fact that many of the victims were burned or mutilated beyond recognition, forensic experts and scientists have worked nonstop since the massacre to identify bodies.
Prof. Gila Kahila Bar-Gal from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is a world-renowned expert on wildlife and ancient DNA analysis. She told The Algemeiner about how she got involved in assisting with identifying the dead from Oct. 7.
In the aftermath of the attack, she said, “you had a lot of missing people and we needed to determine if they were kidnapped or killed.”
Thanks to her expertise in DNA analysis, Bar-Gal was able to volunteer herself. Her work at the National Center of Forensic Medicine (known as Abu Kabir) has been focused on “extracting DNA from burnt bones, many of which are from carcasses that are not intact.”
The scientist said that in her regular day-to-day life she has been working with museum and archeological samples that are primarily animal-based. Her skills in DNA extraction made the transition possible. “I am using the same techniques [as with animals],” Bar-Gal said, adding that she also studied anatomy, which helped with her ability to recognize parts of the human body.
Of course, the work can be emotionally draining, and she has only taken off one day during the war — and even that one day was to get things in order for her normal job.
Bar-Gal said the task has not been easy. But “when I decided to volunteer, I looked for where I could make an impact,” she explained. “You get there and understand you can’t think about the stories behind the samples,” because “having emotion will not help.”
The emotional toll of the job has been made slightly more manageable due to the fact that she works with numbers, instead of names. However, the professor said once there are positive matches and families are identified, she often looks at the stories of the fallen.
The work at Abu Kabir is not done, as there are a number of bone samples that still need to be analyzed. Bar-Gal said she plans on remaining at the forensic center after the war on a part-time basis. She has also started to train people at Abu Kabir in her methods.
The professor avoided praise when asked about the impact she is making by allowing families to know the fate of their loved ones.
“If you look around Israel, everyone is trying to volunteer, and people with different skills are trying to make their impact where they can,” she said. “I have to do what I have to do, and I’m in the place where I’m needed.”
“I am happy to have the opportunity and to give some of the families [closure],” Bar-Gal added. “This is what drives me.”
The post Meet the Scientist Helping to Identify Israel’s Oct. 7 Victims first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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