{"id":10042,"date":"2025-09-10T14:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/?p=10042"},"modified":"2025-09-10T14:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:07:09","slug":"identifying-bodies-of-gazas-missing-battle-against-forgetting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/identifying-bodies-of-gazas-missing-battle-against-forgetting\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying Bodies of Gaza\u2019s Missing: Battle Against Forgetting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gaza – Saadiya Obeid <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Id I knew where he was\u2014<\/em>even in a dangerous place\u2014<\/em>I’d go bring him back, alive or dead. What matters is knowing where he is.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this sentence, Ikram al-Astal sums up her family\u2019s tragedy as they continue searching for her son, Odeh Basheer al-Astal, who disappeared on the evening of February 26. He left his tent in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, and never returned. Since that day, the family has lived between impossible hope and ever-present fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23-year-old Odeh, a young man with special needs, was known for his calmness, kindness, and his daily phrase: \u201cGood comes from God.\u201d His mother says: \u201cHis absence is a black hole in our lives\u2014no sleep, no peace. We\u2019ve searched everywhere: hospitals, morgues, missing persons records, even social media. There\u2019s been no trace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day I ask myself: has he eaten? Has he drunk? Is he even alive?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasser Morgue: The Last Line of Defense for the Dignity of the Dead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a corner overwhelmed by scarcity and grief, Dr. Ahmad Dhuheir, head of forensic medicine, works with his small team to give every unidentified body a chance at recognition, documentation, and\u2014perhaps\u2014reunion with loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach unidentified body is kept for 48 hours before burial,\u201d Dr. Dhuheir explains. \u201cWe wait for families to come forward. We document everything: clothing, distinguishing marks, photographs, even the circumstances of where the body was found.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with the overwhelming numbers, they often resort to collective burial in concrete vaults due to the lack of cemeteries. \u201cWe record every detail,\u201d he says, \u201cwith the help of the Ministry of Endowments or NGOs like Qartoun, and whenever possible we log burial sites using GPS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forensics and Evidence: Every Body a Story with a File and a Code<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Col. Sameh Hussein Hamad, director of forensics in Khan Younis, insists: \u201cIt\u2019s not just a body\u2014it\u2019s a story that must be understood before it is buried.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes the meticulous process: \u201cWe document everything before removing a body: its location, belongings, clothes, identifying features. We photograph it fully, assign a number and code, and store it in both digital and paper archives. All of it is preserved until, someday, someone can recognize the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenges are immense. \u201cWe already have more than a thousand unidentified files, each with 10 to 15 photographs. Every day, we receive 15 to 20 new missing cases. There\u2019s no proper facility for families, no infrastructure worthy of the task.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Field to the Morgue: Double Duties in Wartime<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Col. Sameh describes another side of their work: \u201cOften we go out with Civil Defense to dangerous areas to collect bodies, as we did at the Mirage Junction. Our job doesn\u2019t begin at the morgue; it starts at the scene. We document, photograph, record notes, and then follow every case through until it\u2019s stored in the archives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At times, they are forced to publish identifiable photos of bodies on social media, giving families one last chance to recognize their loved ones when no one comes forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But resources are limited. Dr. Dhuheir admits: \u201cWe lack specialists in forensic odontology, osteology, and advanced identification sciences. We try to preserve evidence, hoping for future international cooperation that could help identify the still-unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odeh: When a Human Becomes a Question<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The story of Odeh Basheer al-Astal is not unique\u2014it is one among countless others. Families search desperately, while officials struggle to do more with less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the greatest obstacle is time. Decomposition advances. Resources dwindle. Numbers multiply. In overcrowded morgues, in overfilled files, and in memories burdened with images, teams continue their work in a race against forgetting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the system, Odeh may be just another number among thousands.
For his family, he is life itself.
And for the nation, he remains an open wound\u2014one that can only close with certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gaza – Saadiya Obeid “Id I knew where he was\u2014even in a dangerous place\u2014I’d go bring him back, alive or dead. What matters is knowing where he is.” With this sentence, Ikram al-Astal sums up her family\u2019s tragedy as they continue searching for her son, Odeh Basheer al-Astal, who disappeared on the evening of February<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1142,834,131,445,57,95,44,1141,666],"class_list":{"0":"post-10042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-facts-in-english","8":"tag-dispalced","9":"tag-displaced","10":"tag-fact","11":"tag-famine","12":"tag-gaza","13":"tag-genocide","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-missing-people","16":"tag-palestinians"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10044,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10042\/revisions\/10044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashif.ps\/en\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}