Forensic pathologists have identified the tissue remains of three IDF soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon war, which were transferred to Israel by Hizbullah.
The body parts returned to Israel by Hizbullah on Sunday are remains of three IDF soldiers killed in combat in the 2006 Lebanon War, according to pathologists at the Abu Kabir Forensic institute. According to the institute, some of the body parts transferred to Israel will take up to another month to identify.
The casket containing the remains of the three soldiers was handed over Sunday to the Red Cross, as part of a deal with the Olmert government that enabled Nissim Nasser, a convicted Lebanese spy and naturalized Israeli citizen, to walk alive and free into Lebanon.
Included with the remains is the dog tag of Sgt.-Major Ron Mashiah, killed when his helicopter was shot down during the war. The dog tag was displayed by Lebanese media earlier this year when Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah announced that his organization had the body parts of IDF soldiers, and Mashiah's family received it on Monday.
Mashiah's brother Motti told news website Ynet that "[the tag] won't bring him back anymore, but it's still an item which he held on to in his last moments. It has sentimental value which cannot be ignored. There is no doubt that this brings everything back. The tag is with our parents now, for safe keeping, and one day we will give it to his son, so he'll have something to remember his father by."
According to Motti, the family was surprised at the news that they would be receiving the tag, and commended the Israeli government's endurance in the face of Hizbullah's pressure: "One good thing you can say is that the State never gave in to Nasrallah's demands and held its ground. We knew the bodies were here and even if there was anything left behind in Lebanon, the State mustn't trade anything for it."
Motti added that the family insists the government must hold its ground in the event that Israel's enemies make bodies or body parts of fallen Israeli soldiers a part of a future trade. "This is not negotiable," he added. "The State shouldn't have to pay for bodies, body parts or any other items. The State must draw the line and not cross it."
The newly identified remains are from three of 20 of the war's fatalities who the IDF confirmed recently were not buried intact. DNA samples were taken from all of the fallen, giving the military precise documentation of the body parts still missing.