The IDF provided an update this afternoon (Thursday) on the efforts to identify and bury the numerous casualties from Hamas' massacre of over 1,300 Israelis on Saturday.
So far, the bodies of 854 massacred civilians have been located. 361 of these victims have been positively identified, and 264 have been buried.
222 families of fallen IDF soldiers have been informed that their loved ones fell in the line of duty. 138 of these soldiers have been buried so far.
Identifying the soldiers who were killed is easier than identifying the civilians, as soldiers' fingerprints, dental photographs, and other identification methods are entered into a database on the day they enlist.
Authorities hope to have all identified victims buried by the time Shabbat begins tomorrow evening (Friday). There are numerous cases where the victims' identities are more difficult to verify, such as in cases where the victims were burned alive or their bodies were burned.
The military also reached out to families who have had no information about their loved ones, in order to make contact with all the soldiers' families.
Due to the unprecedented scale of the massacre, the IDF realized that it was necessary to help the police inform the families of civilians of the heartbreaking news of their relatives' passing.
In addition, the IDF has begun building a database of photos and fingerprints and a database of DNA, biometrics, and dental records to help identify civilian victims.
The heads of all government ministries are supporting the security forces' efforts to identify the victims.
In addition, two operations rooms have been established, one focused on informing the families of the victims, and one focused on the issue of the abductees taken to Gaza by Hamas. The two operations rooms cross-reference their intelligence regularly.
So far, 97 families have been informed that their loved ones were taken to Gaza as captives. The captives include both civilians and soldiers.
The IDF has recruited additional soldiers to improve the response to families' requests and questions through the 105 hotline. All notifications to families that their loved ones have been killed are done face to face, regardless of whether the casualties are soldiers or civilians.