As the world prepares to enter into the third month of the Middle East conflict, the existence of a “secretive” group of medical experts formed by Israel, has to come to the surface. Merely the first week into the conflict, this team of three was tasked to determine if a hostage held in Gaza was dead.
On October 7, Hamas kidnapped 240 people and took them into Gaza following an unprecedented attack on southern Israel. After the release of 105 hostages from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in November, it is now believed that 128 hostages remain in Gaza. The Israeli military has confirmed the deaths of 21 hostages but the fate of those who remain in the Palestinian conclave is uncertain.
Unique protocols
Prof. Ofer Merin, who is Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s director general, has revealed to The Times of Israel how he and two of his colleagues have devised unique protocols for using visual and other intelligence information to decide whether a person is no longer alive. He said when the committee reaches a decision, it prepares a detailed report about its findings gives it to the IDF, and leaves it to the military to announce the death.
Since mid-October, this group has met every week to review intelligence provided to them by the security agencies regarding suspected deaths of particular hostages. The trio draws conclusions only when they “have deliberated over and cross-referenced sufficient data to be able to medically and unanimously determine with absolute certainty that a captive is dead.”
‘Continuous grief’
When asked what made him join the group, Prof Merin said, “It’s the continuous grief day after day of living with uncertainty, always with a slim hope that maybe their loved one is alive or just wounded or okay. There is a clear understanding that these people need the closure. If we know for sure that someone is dead, I think we’re doing right by these families by telling them.”
Over a question about the information used to determine a hostage’s death, he said, “First of all, we know that people were dragged to Gaza by Hamas either physically unharmed, injured, or already dead.” He said the group works with some of the materials like videos from inside Israel and footage from security cameras from kibbutzim and villages.
He said that additional intelligence is also gathered from outside Israel. “That’s all I can say. Israel is putting huge efforts into getting information about every single person who is in Gaza. As the information comes in, we are given it for evaluation,” he said. The top Israeli medical expert added that the committee always determines the cause of death. “This is one of our rules. It gives us more confidence in deciding that a hostage is dead.”
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