“It’s Rani, it’s him!” exclaimed Dr. Assi Sharon in Gaza, recognizing Major Ran Gvili from a photo taken at the Shajaiya cemetery after over two years. Dr. Sharon, 51, a Jerusalem mother of three and a 16-year volunteer with the forensic identification department, leads the MAZF brigade’s volunteer dentist unit. She previously identified Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin (kidnapped in 2014) and has been involved in identifying hundreds of victims as October 7th.
On Saturday, Dr. Sharon and Dr. Ilana Engel, both Hebrew university dentistry professors, joined Medical Corps unit 6017 for a field identification mission. A team of around twenty dentists established a field station with a mobile X-ray machine and laptops, expecting to examine 800 bodies with the goal of finding Rani Gvili. They examined over 250 bodies before locating his.
During the night between Sunday and Monday, engineering equipment dug pits, and dentists photographed the bodies, identifying 200 during the night, each assigned a number.
On Monday at 2:52 p.m., a dental photo arrived on Dr. Sharon’s phone. Recognizing Gvili instantly, she requested body number 251 for an X-ray. Knowing his dental records by heart, she experienced shaking hands and difficulty speaking. She messaged Commissioner Meir Dukan, who asked for confirmation, to which she replied to wait until the X-ray was complete.
Minutes later, comparing the X-ray to Gvili’s army records, Dr. Sharon confirmed the identification: “You can cry. Rani has been positively identified.”
The news caused widespread emotion and quickly reached the chief of staff,defense minister,prime minister,and police chief danny Levy,who was at an exhibition on october 7th and touched a photo of Gvili,saying,”You have finally returned home.”
A military ceremony was held on site with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the Southern Command Commander present.
Returning to Israel, dr. Sharon observed people waving Israeli flags and removed the yellow ribbon symbolizing hostages from her neck. Before leaving Gaza, she placed an Israeli police patch on Gvili’s body and personally informed his parents.
Commissioner Dukan praised the unit’s work, stating the volunteer dentists provide certainty to families and perform “sacred work.”
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