After a long night, the five-member team from Zaka International Rescue Unit completed their mission of identifying the three Israeli victims of the Istanbul terror attack and the bodies are on their way back to Israel for burial.

The Zaka International Rescue Unit delegation, headed by Commander Mati Goldstein, left for Turkey immediately after Shabbos. On arrival, the team connected with Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, the rabbi of the local Ashkenazi community and the President of the local Jewish community Rabbi Yitzhak Ibrahim Zada.

After clearing the scene of the terror site of human remains, the Zaka volunteers were taken to complete the long and difficult task of identifying the three Israeli victims – Yonatan Suher, Simcha Dimri and Avraham Goldman. The remains were wrapped in Zaka body bags, placed in coffins and are now enroute back to Israel in an IAF plane.

Zaka International Rescue Unit Commander Mati Goldstein: “After Shabbos we began organizing a team to head out to Turkey, our delegation consists of five volunteers. We took all the necessary equipment with us for the mission of collecting and identifying the bodies. On arrival, we went immediately to the site of the terror attack, where we cleared the scene of human remains.”

Goldstein continued: “From there, we went to the place where the bodies had been taken. There, we worked all night on the painstaking task of identifying the remains. On completion of the mission, we accompanied the bodies to the airport where a ceremony took place in honor of the murdered victims. We are returning to Israel with the bodies.”

Zaka Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav praised the work of the team: “Zaka’s bitter experience of dealing with the tragic aftermath of major international disasters has once again been tested, and has once again proved successful. Within less than 24 hours, the Zaka volunteers managed to identify the bodies and prepare them for return to Israel and a full Jewish burial.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo: Zaka spokesman’s office)