The father of an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldier has claimed his son was killed by Hamas terrorists, who then tried to sell his severed head online.
IDF Sergeant Adir Tahar, 19, was among the approximately 274 soldiers Israeli officials say were killed following Hamas’ brutal October 7 attacks.
His father, David, said he was killed after Hamas “sent a missile and three grenades toward him”, and that CT scans showed his body was “full of shrapnel”.
Speaking to Israeli Channel 14, the dad said that, while he did eventually receive his son’s remains, they came without his head.
He claimed Sergeant Tahar’s head was decapitated and put up for sale in Gaza before the remains were handed to the IDF.
Mr Tahar said his body was “abused after he was killed”, and that the terrorists “beheaded him and took the head to Gaza”.
When he did receive the body, the dad said his son was “unrecognisable” and only identifiable via dog tags, DNA testing and his belongings.
He added: “I did everything I could. It wasn’t easy. In the end, I got a body without a head.
“I insisted very much with the army to see the body. They tried to explain to me that I should not see it.”
“Half an hour before I buried my child, his body arrived at Mount Herzl [military cemetery], I opened the coffin when I was alone.
”I understood exactly what I was burying. He was unrecognisable. I identified him by dog tags and a DNA test and things he had in his pants.”
Hundreds of soldiers and dozens of security officers – 274 and 38 respectively – died on October 7, and in the months since, hundreds more deaths have followed.
In December, the IDF estimated that 506 soldiers have died since the initial attacks – 1,200 people in total.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have died since Israel retaliated and launched its ground invasion.
The humanitarian organisation reported 23,074 deaths in the Gaza Strip between October 7, 2023 and January 7, 2024, an average of 250.8 per day.
