At Camp Shura’s National Center for Casualties of Israel’s Defense Forces, hundreds of body bags have remained untouched since the devastating events of October 7. These bags hold both partial human remains and other matter requiring burial, including blood.
Despite extensive work over the past several months, a significant number of these remains have still not been conclusively identified.
As reported by Yediot Achronot, the military rabbinate sought authorization to perform an additional round of DNA testing on all of the body bags. However, their request was turned down by the Ministry of Religious Services.
In response, the military rabbinate turned to Chief Rabbi David Yosef, who issued a ruling permitting further DNA tests to ensure proper identification and halachic burial of the remains. The IDF even set aside a dedicated budget to fund this renewed identification effort and secured backing from the Israel Police.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Services, led by director Yehuda Avidan, continues to resist the idea of retesting. The ministry argues that such efforts are a misuse of public resources and may constitute “desecration of the dead.” Avidan’s stance is reportedly grounded in an expert opinion provided by Dr. Chen Kugel, the head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The impasse between the military rabbinate and the Ministry of Religious Services has yet to be resolved, leaving hundreds of body bags in limbo. Officials at the Ministry of Religious Services are now contemplating a mass burial of the remains without conducting individual identifications—a move that has drawn sharp opposition from various IDF officials and rabbinic authorities.
A final resolution is expected to emerge following deliberations of a joint committee comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Religious Services, the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the police, which is currently meeting to address the issue.
{Matzav.com Israel}