In kibbutz Be’eri, Israeli archaeology crews are sorting through debris and ashes in a burnt-out building that was formerly roofed. A month after the devastating Hamas attack, they are searching for human remains in the hopes of identifying victims who are still unaccounted for.
According to Israeli counts, Be’eri is among the localities most severely affected by the Hamas terrorists that broke across the Israel-Gaza border on October 7, murdering almost 1,400 people and kidnapping over 240 others.
The kibbutz’s roadways are still lined with twisted, broken automobiles, and several of the buildings have been shot through or completely destroyed by fire. There are still children’s bikes strewn among broken glass, unexploded bombs, and rubble.
In Be’eri, like in the neighbouring villages Kfar Aza and Nir Oz, the gunmen shot at families taking refuge in their safe rooms and set houses alight. They also torched cars at a music festival where 260 died.
Rescue teams found burnt bodies in various locations, but with numerous people missing, the Israeli military two weeks ago called in archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) to assist with the meticulous, delicate search.
So far they have helped identify 10 victims, they say, leaving an estimated 25 people still unaccounted for.
“We went into the burnt houses,” said archaeologist Joe Uziel, “searching for even the most minute evidence that could help us identify individuals that were missing, be it personal belongings such as jewellery and such or the remains of bones which had been fractured by the heat.”
Aided by soldiers, the experts divided up the areas into searching zones just as they would have on an excavation, and began searching and sifting.
It has not been easy, said Uziel.
“It’s a mixed feeling of: do you want to find something or do you not want to find something. Because if you find something that means you’ve determined that someone is gone and at the same time, not finding someone means that they remain in this limbo of not knowing.”
“As difficult as this is,” he added, “it’s fulfilling to know that perhaps we can bring some help and some closure to these families who have lost so much.”
