Preparations are taking place at Israel’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for receiving the bodies of four hostages slated to be released by Hamas on Thursday.

The names of the deceased will be transferred to Israel on Thursday morning, meaning that the families will be informed of their loved ones’ deaths just a few hours beforehand. According to a Channel 12 report, Israel is making efforts to receive the list earlier.

Once the names are received, the bodies will be collected at an agreed-upon meeting spot by IDF ambulances and transported to Abu Kabir for verification.

Deputy Chief Superintendent Aliza Raziel, the head of Israel Police’s Forensic Identification Division told Channel 12 News: “We’re on high alert. Together with the Forensic Institute and the IDF, we are ready to receive the bodies and employ all available scientific identification methods. At the beginning of the war, we collected the hostages’ biometric data  – dental data, fingerprints, and DNA – so that when the time comes, we can accurately identify their identities.”

Health Minister Uriel Buso warned on Wednesday that the “identification of the bodies may take time,” adding that the process could be very short or very long, depending on the condition of the bodies. “Israel does not have accurate information about the conditions of the bodies,” he added.

On Thursday morning, all of Abu Kabir’s doctors, without exception, will arrive at the institute, and from the moment the bodies are received, they will work around the clock until the identification process is complete, Kan News reported.

The team includes 10 doctors, five specialists and five interns, and 10 laboratory workers specializing in DNA identification. In addition, other professionals will be called to provide opinions during the identification process.

The duration and complexity of the process will depend on the condition the bodies are received in. The teams will use X-rays of the deceased and dental records, but the longest and most complex part is expected to be the extraction and identification of DNA, especially the analysis phase.

After legal identification, the bodies will be transferred to their families who can finally bring their loved ones to Kever Yisrael.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)