IDF representatives officially informed the family of Balaha Yinon today (Tuesday) that she was murdered in a Hamas attack on October 7 - after findings were recently found in her home that helped the IDF identify her.
.76-year-old Bela from Netiv Ha'esra is the last to be declared missing since Simchat Torah.
Her husband, Yaakov Y.D., 78, was also murdered in the couple's home after their house took a direct hit and caught fire within minutes. So far, only Yaakov's DNA has been found at the scene.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
After the family received testimonies from neighbors who noticed the massacre and fire, they decided to hold a 'Shiva' in the first week of the war.
The IDF statement stated:
""Since the outbreak of the war, the IDF, the Human Resources Division in particular, and the Kidnapped Command in the Military Intelligence Directorate, have been conducting an extensive investigative effort in which various teams, in a variety of fields, have been working to find out what happened to Balaha Yinon.".
As part of this activity, artifacts were recently discovered in her home, which, after a complex examination and interpretation process, can be confirmed as her identity.
A committee of experts from the Ministry of Health, with the participation of representatives of the IDF investigation team, representatives of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police, and in cooperation with the Rishon LeZion Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, determined, based on a combination of findings, that Bilhah Yinon was murdered on October 7th.
"The IDF shares in the grief of the Yinon family and the grief of the entire Nativ Ha'esra community.".
In an interview with Reshet B on March 26, the couple's daughter said: "As far as we're concerned, mother is not missing. We have no doubt that they were together at home on the morning of October 7. They sent us a WhatsApp message and my brother still managed to talk to them. Father's remains were found, as well as other remains from which DNA cannot be extracted.".
She explained: "There is a gap between the IDF investigation's position, according to which the mother was at home and was murdered with the father, and the position of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, which says that there cannot be a situation in which there were no remains left in the house from which DNA could be extracted. Right now, no one knows exactly how the parents were killed and how the house caught fire.".
