The Israel Defense Forces declared the death of Bilha Inon — the last unaccounted-for victim of Hamas’s October 7 attack — on Tuesday night.
The 75-year-old Inon’s home in Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara was completely burnt, and authorities initially declared her dead along with her husband, Yakov. But the IDF later retracted the declaration over a lack of evidence.
The army said that new evidence was discovered in the area of Inon’s house, which confirmed her identity and that she was murdered on October 7.
The last contact the Inon’s children had with Yakov and Bilha was a WhatsApp message at 7:30 AM saying that they were in a safe room and heard a lot of shooting and rockets.
Bilha’s death was declared by a committee of Ministry of Health experts, military and police officials and the Chief Rabbi.
Bilha, who trained nursery school teachers, is survived by five children and 11 grandchildren. In the absence of a body or official confirmation of Bilha’s death, her children held a week-long period of mourning known as shiva in October, but did not hold a funeral.
The findings allow Israel to close the chapter dozens of October 7 victims who disappeared during the attack. To resolve the fates of the missing, archaeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority were enlisted to help search for and identify the remains of massacre victims. Their efforts led to the identification of 10 people who were unaccounted for.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 111 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
