How Israel is using birds in their search for Hamas attack victims

An environmentalist is using birds of prey to help Israel’s army in recovering dead remains at the places where Hamas assaulted on 7 October. Ohad Hatzofe of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority leverages GPS tracking devices to study the migration patterns of a variety of birds. His data has helped locate four corpses. Feathered detectives Eagles, vultures and other birds of prey have a keen sense of smell and can detect dead bodies from a distance. These birds fitted with GPS tracking devices have been playing a crucial role in the search for human remains, said Ohad Hatzofe of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority. “When the war began I was approached by some reservists serving in that unit,” said Hatzofe. “They asked me if my birds could help with something.” The idea came from EITAN, a unit within the army’s human resources branch which is responsible for locating missing soldiers. Hatzofe heads a programme which tracks endangered griffon vultures, which chiefly feed on dead animals, as well as eagles and other birds of prey which he said also eat carrion. [caption id=“attachment_13372142” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] More than one month after the Hamas attack, dozens of others listed as missing have not been found or identified. AP[/caption] The programme has tagged hundreds of birds with GPS trackers to study their migratory patterns, feeding habits and environmental threats they face. On 23 October, one of them — a rare sea eagle which had returned to Israeli skies the day before after spending the summer in northern Russia — was found near Beeri, just outside the Gaza Strip. “I sent my data” to the army, Hatzofe said. “They went to verify it and recovered four bodies,” he said, unable to reveal more about the location or identities of the corpses. Dozens of people are still missing Beeri, a kibbutz agricultural community, saw 85 residents killed when Hamas militants stormed across the highly-militarised border to carry out the worst attack since Israel’s creation in 1948. According to Israeli authorities more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says has killed more than 10,500 people, also mostly civilians. Also Read: One month of Israel-Hamas war: How it began, where it is going In Beeri, another 30 are missing or presumed to be among the roughly 240 hostages seized by Hamas during its attack. Hatzofe said data from a second bird, a Bonelli’s eagle, enabled the recovery of “other bodies inside Israel”. Israeli police on Monday said they had identified the bodies of 843 civilians and 351 soldiers in total. More than one month after the Hamas attack, dozens of others listed as missing have not been found or identified. With inputs from AFP