Israeli forensic teams describe signs of torture, abuse

investing.com:

RAMLA, Israel (Reuters) — Military forensic teams in Israel have examined bodies of victims of last week's Hamas attack on communities around the Gaza Strip and found multiple signs of torture, rape and other atrocities, officers said on Saturday.

Around 1,300 bodies have been brought to an army base in Ramla in central Israel where forensic checks to determine the identity of the dead and the circumstances of their death are carried out by specialist teams.

Around 90% of the military dead have been identified and teams are half way through identifying civilians, said Rabbi Israel Weiss, former army chief rabbi, one of the officials overseeing the identification of the dead. He said many bodies showed signs of torture as well as rape.

«We've seen dismembered bodies with their arms and feet chopped off, people that were beheaded, a child that was beheaded,» a reserve warrant officer identified only by her first name of Avigayil told reporters.

She said multiple cases of rape were found by forensic examination of the bodies, which have been stored in refrigerated containers.

«We do the identification with all the means that we have,» said a military dentist, identified as Captain Maayan. «We see them in severe stages of abuse. We see gunshots and we see signs that are purely torture.»

The military personnel overseeing the identification process didn't present any forensic evidence in the form of pictures or medical records.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, has denied accusations of abuse.

Hundreds of Hamas gunmen, some on motorcycles, broke through barriers around Gaza in the early hours of Oct. 7 and tore through nearby communities, attacking a large outdoor dance party as well homes and military