Dr Assi Sharon, an expert in oral and facial rehabilitation at Hadassah Hospital and a volunteer with the Israel Police’s Casualty Identification Unit since 2010, was the first to identify the notorious terrorist Yahya Sinwar after his neutralisation. In an exclusive interview with YNet, she recalls the dramatic moment when she received an urgent phone call and explains how Sinwar’s distinctive dental structure confirmed his identity.
"I immediately knew it was him," she said, describing the profound sense of satisfaction that came with the identification.
It was Thursday afternoon when Dr Sharon’s phone rang at her home. For years, alongside her routine role as a specialist in oral and facial rehabilitation at Hadassah, she has been volunteering in the police’s dental identification unit.
Since the outbreak of the war, she has been involved in identifying victims. However, this particular call marked a significant moment—Dr Sharon was the first to positively identify that the terrorist killed was none other than the mastermind Yahya Sinwar. His body underwent an autopsy and identification process at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute and was transferred to a secret location for storage.
Dr Sharon has been volunteering with the unit since 2010 and has been involved in several tragic incidents that have claimed Israeli lives.
"The first event I was part of was the Carmel disaster. Another one was the Nahal Tzafit tragedy, where I encountered the heartbreaking task of identifying such young and beautiful individuals for the first time," she describes. "Over the years, there were also major traffic accidents and other incidents, but the largest disaster I encountered was on October 7, with the massacre of the young people at the party. We arrived at the scene on the night of October 7, and we started the identification work on October 8, continuing from then until today. In the initial phase, it was 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that went on for a long time. Later, the work became more focused operations. Throughout these months, we receive bodies or information periodically, conducting examinations and identifications, or ruling them out to help in the search for the hostages."
And while the war in Gaza and on the northern front continues, there is only one thing she truly hopes for: "I'm just waiting for as many hostages as possible to come back alive, so I can remove them from my lists because they will return to us on their feet. I will stay in this role and in this work for as long as I am needed, and we will do everything to bring those murdered hostages back to their families."
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