"My Hands Were Shaking": The Dentist Who Identified Ran Gvili from a Mass Grave in Gaza

In a gripping interview with Ynet today (Tuesday), Dr. Assi Sharon, head of the Israel Police Dental Identification Unit, recounted the chilling and emotional moment she identified the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage.

The identification took place following a massive recovery operation in a cemetery on the outskirts of the Shejaiya neighborhood in northern Gaza. Acting on precise intelligence, Israeli forces began searching through hundreds of bodies in the area on Sunday night.

A team of forensic dentists established an identification post directly in the field to speed up the process. Dr. Sharon revealed that during the first night of the operation, her team examined photographs and dental records of approximately 200 bodies, all of which were ruled out.

The breakthrough came yesterday afternoon (Monday) at 2:52pm.

"I looked at the photo and said to myself, 'That’s Rani,'" Dr. Sharon recalled. "I have his dental records and identifying marks memorized from the X-rays he took when he enlisted, which were transferred to the police on October 7th."

Despite her immediate instinct, the rigorous forensic protocol had to be followed. She ordered the team at the site to pull body "Number 251" for a full X-ray.

"Everyone was very excited, even though I was already certain at first glance," she said. "My hands were shaking; I could barely speak."

Minutes later, the formal comparison confirmed the match. The news sparked a wave of emotion among the forensic and military teams on the ground. "The excitement was immense," Dr. Sharon shared. "Everyone around me was crying."

The identification of Ran Gvili, a police officer who fought heroically on October 7, marks the end of a long-running effort to return the final known kidnapped fallen soldier to Israel. His body was transported to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute and was escorted by a police honor guard.