Nearly two months after the start of the conflict, many Israelis are unaware of the fate of family members taken hostage or missing in the chaos of October 7.
On October 7, when Hamas militants attacked a music festival in southern IsraelHanan Yablonka and four friends tried to flee the carnage.
His friends were killed, but what happened to Hanan Yablonka remains a mystery.
The 42-year-old Israeli’s phone was found in the bullet-riddled car he and his companions used to escape, but there has been no sign of him since. No updates on social media, no responses to messages.
Like so many other Israeli families, Yablonka’s family still has no information about him. He is one of the Dozens of people still without news since Hamas infiltrated Israelkilling nearly 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages — some of whom have since been released — at the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival and elsewhere.
Some of the bodies of the deceased were so badly burned in fires or explosions during the attacks that they are difficult to identify. Others, who may still be alive, have not been found, forcing families to live in seemingly endless uncertainty.
“It’s a real nightmare“, Emanuel Abady, Hanan Yablonka’s niece, told the Associated Press.
“He is alive, he is dead, but then where is the body?Maybe he’s in Gaza… Maybe he was injured, maybe he was shot, but he’s in Gaza“.
A very complex identification process
Immediately after the attack, police, military and investigators found themselves at a crime scene with many victims, desperately trying to identify the dead and the kidnapped.
Getting clear answers about where people were and how many died was, and still is, a challenge.
In November, the army brought back the number of people killed from more than 1,400 to around 1,200but did not specify why.
She also repeatedly updated the number of hostages believed to have been taken to Gaza.
Israeli officials told the Associated Press (AP) that the fate of dozens of people was still unknown, but they did not respond to numerous requests for comment regarding why it took so long to identify them and why the death toll was adjusted.
The army – also known as the IDF – announced thatshe had called in archaeologists to apply excavation techniques used in burned and damaged ancient sites to help identify victims. Experts have so far helped identify at least 10 people.
Some people initially believed to be taken hostage were unfortunately pronounced dead.
These include Vivian Silver, a Canadian-born Israeli peace activist whose family was only recently informed that she had been killed.
The reverse also happened, some of the alleged victims turned out to have been kidnapped.
Nine-year-old Emily Tony Korenberg Hand is among this group and was released last Saturday.
The bodies of the victims as well as other human remains were transported at the Shura military base in central Israeltransformed into a morgue for the identification of victims.
At first, it was relatively easy to identify the most intact bodies, forensic specialists said. But over time, the identification work became more laborious, as charred bones had to be sifted through, making DNA extraction and comparison significantly more complicated.
Other means of identification, such as fingerprints or dental records prove difficult to use.
“It’s a long process, sometimes we don’t have the right bone or the right sample to give the answer…When the samples are difficult, it takes time“, explains Gila Kahila Bar-Gal.
This expert in ancient and forensic DNA research on wild animals volunteered at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine to help identify victims. Identifying burned bones can take up to twice as longshe explains.
It is also difficult to determine how many people were kidnapped in the chaos that followed Hamas’s entry into Israel from Gaza.
“Many people crossed the barrier that day: civilians, militants and Hamas members, and it remains unclear who was kidnapped and by whom they are being held“, explains to the news agency Mairav Zonszein, senior analyst on Israel for the International Crisis Group.
All avenues are explored
Hanan Yablonka’s niece thinks that his uncle is still alive and was probably kidnapped. Through videos, text messages and phone calls, the family was able to piece together the final hours before his disappearance.
Hanan Yablonka was among thousands of people who attended the Nova music festival near the Gaza border. Father of two children, he loved music, explains Emanuel Abady.
His family, however, did not know that he had gone to the festival, and it was only when they had no further news from him, on October 7, that they began to worry, to telephone, to comb through social networks, to finally contact the police.
When warning sirens sounded that morning in response to Hamas rockets, surveillance video received by the family, and seen by the news agency, shows a man the family says is Hanan Yablonka crouching behind a car in the crowded festival parking lot.
Shortly before 7 a.m. local time, one of his friends called the Israeli emergency service from the car, saying someone had been hit. Text messages sent by two women in the group to their families indicated that Hanan Yablonka was driving and that they were trying to flee.
Another video shared with the family shows the damaged car, its rear window blown out and broken glass, a backpack and clothes scattered on the seat.
The car was found near Kibbutz Mefalsim, a few kilometers from the festival site, with the bodies of Yablonka’s three friends lying nearby, according to Emanuel Abady.
Despite all these signs, there was no trace of Hanan Yablonka, not even blood splatters. His keys, phone and ID were in the car, but there was nothing else that could help his family find him.
She provided DNA samples, as well as his dental records and medical information in the hope that he would be found and identified.
Living in uncertainty
According to Sarah Davies, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, the stress and anxiety associated with this uncertainty over the fate of a loved one has considerable psychological and emotional consequences.
“They live with a gaping hole in their lives. Countless scenarios run through family members’ minds…they imagine the worst and are unable to do anything about it“, she explains.
For some families, it’s just too painful to wait for answers.
In early November, the family of 12-year-old Liel Hetzroni placed some of her clothes, personal belongings and ashes from where they believe she died in a coffin, and buried her alongside her twin brother and his aunt.
The three were trapped in a house with dozens of other people in Kibbutz Be’eri during an hours-long clash between Hamas and Israeli soldiers that ended in an explosion, killing almost everyone. inside.
While the remains of Liel’s brother and aunt were quickly identified, there was no trace of Liel for weeks, says Sagi Shifroni, Liel’s cousin.
“The wait was not healthy for the soul or our family“, explains Sagi Shifroni. Shortly after the coffin was buried, the army informed them that one of Liel’s bones had been found.
“It feels good to receive confirmation of what we already knew“, he said, “this is the end of the story“.