Israeli dentist returns to identifying war victims in iran conflict

Israeli Dentist Resumes Identifying War Victims in Escalating Iran Conflict

By Eli Berlzon

The Ongoing Role of Forensic Dentistry in War Identification

JERUSALEM, March 11 (Reuters) - After helping to identify the remains of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza, dentist Esi Sharon-Sagie hoped her work naming the dead killed in more than two years of war was finally over. Weeks later she was called back to duty.

On February 28, a U.S.-Israel air assault in Iran ignited a war now engulfing the Middle East and Sharon-Sagie is again seeking to give a name to those whose bodies are too badly mutilated for visual identification techniques.

Immediate Response to Iranian Missile Attack

On March 1, she was called to the site of an Iranian missile attack on the town of Beit Shemesh in central Israel. 

"We were informed that a missile killed nine people that weren't able to get into a shelter in time. And the minute we heard that the disaster happened, we had to go to do the identification," said Sharon-Sagie.

Among the dead were a brother and two sisters, 13, 15 and 16 years old.

Challenges in Identifying War Victims

Months Needed to Identify October 7 Victims

Although she has been volunteering with police since 2010, Sharon-Sagie says that everything changed on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. 

Health authorities struggled to cope with the hundreds killed in Israel's single deadliest day. Identification of about 1,200 fatalities, some badly burned, was not completed for many months. 

The Role of Forensic Odontology

Forensic odontology is used to identify the remains of people whose bodies are in a condition that makes other methods, like visual recognition or fingerprinting, impossible. For instance, a charred or decomposed body can be identified by matching X-rays with past dental records.  

Sharon-Sagie, who is on duty day and night, often had to summon the strength to overcome exhaustion. On one occasion, at the end of an hours-long shift, she was asked to help with one more victim. She looked at the woman's slim hand, and rings.   

"I spoke with her in my heart with no sound. I looked at her and I said: 'now you're going to help me because I have no strength anymore. You'll help me and I'll help you. I'll bring you back to your family'," said Sharon-Sagie. 

Sinwar Medical Records Held on File

A year later she helped to identify one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack.     

Yahya Sinwar, then the leader of Hamas, was killed by Israeli fighters in southern Gaza in October 2024. 

Sinwar's body was transferred to Israel, which still held his medical records from his time in an Israeli prison, where he was jailed for killing Israeli soldiers and Palestinians whom Hamas suspected were spying for Israel.

"He had brain surgery in Israel many, many years ago. So we had all his information," said Sharon-Sagie. 

The Emotional Toll and Closure for Families

For many in Israel, the pain of the October 7 attack could only be alleviated with the release of the last remaining hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.

That relief finally came on January 26 when the remains of the last of the 251 hostages were found in the Palestinian enclave.  

Sharon-Sagie was on the team that checked scores of bodies buried in a cemetery in northern Gaza in the search for police officer, Ran Gvili, who fought Palestinian militants at an Israeli kibbutz.

As a volunteer with the police force, it was a complex moment for Sharon-Sagie.

"I was surprised it was actually happening. I felt my hands trembling, I was very moved. When we did the identification and finished signing the report that this is him, at first I was happy but seconds after that I understood that it is over, he is not coming back to Israel alive," she said. 

(Additional reporting by Lee Marzel; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Sharon Singleton)