Israeli Army using eagles and vultures to locate corpses of Hamas terror attack victims: Report

Israeli Army is using eagles, vultures, and other birds of prey to locate corpses around the sites of the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas terror group, a wildlife conservationist involved in the process told AFP news agency.

The expert said that tracking devices have been fitted on these birds which relay information about the human remains of the attack victims back to the military.

The idea was the brainchild of EITAN, a unit within the army's human resources branch which is responsible for locating missing soldiers.

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Ohad Hatzofe of Israel's Nature and Parks Authority told AFP that when the war began on October 7, some reservists of the EITAN unit had approached him to discuss the possibility of using the birds to locate corpses.

Birds scavenge for corpses

"They asked me if my birds could help with something," said Hatzofe, who heads a programme that tracks endangered griffon vultures that primarily feed on dead animals, as well as other birds of prey.

The programme focuses on studying the migratory patterns, feeding habits and environmental threats faced by the birds by using GPS trackers fitted on them.

On October 23, the army was able to locate the bodies of the victims near Beeri, just outside the Gaza Strip, with the help of a rare sea eagle.

The sea eagle had returned to Israeli skies after spending the summer in northern Russia.

"I sent my data" to the army, Hatzofe was quoted as saying.

"They went to verify it and recovered four bodies," he said, unable to reveal more about the location or identities of the corpses.

Those missing are yet to be found or identified

About 85 residents were found killed in Beeri, a kibbutz or agricultural community when Hamas terrorists stormed across the highly-militarised border to carry out the worst attack since Israel's creation in 1948.

In Beeri, another 30 are missing or presumed to be among the roughly 240 hostages seized by Hamas during its attack.

With the help of another bird, a Bonelli's eagle, the military was able to recover "other bodies inside Israel", Hatzofe said.

According to Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack.

On Monday, Israeli police said they had identified the bodies of 843 civilians and 351 soldiers in total.

At least dozens who have been reported missing since the Hamas attack last month have not yet been found or identified.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos