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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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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.