How was Yahya Sinwar identified?

The end of many murderers in identifying the genetic material: The body of Yahya Sinwar was found among the ruins of Gaza, and it is enough to look at the photos of his body to recognize that the structure of the teeth corresponds to his unique structure of teeth, which is full of severe deformities, including curvatures and gaps in the upper and lower jaw. However, the sure identification of a body is usually carried out in one way: comparing the hereditary material DNA (DNA).

Shortly after the body was identified, parts of his body (in fact, even a hair from his beard is enough) were transferred to the identification department of the Israel Police. Sinwar was imprisoned for years, and therefore the security system has a chain of details about his fingerprints as well as the hereditary material. With advanced technological methods, it is now possible to identify the genetic load of people even months and years after they were at the scene of the incident.DNA resides in most of the cells of our body. It is found in the cell nucleus and mitochondria, an organelle responsible for the cells’ energy. Inside the DNA, which contains two helices, our genetic load is encoded. Each helix contains sequences of nitrogenous bases, and each base pairs with a base in the opposite helix. Three base pairs form an amino acid, which is the building block of the body’s proteins.

When the cells of the body divide, the DNA duplicates itself precisely and preserves our genetic code. The secret of DNA’s magic is its ability to be preserved for years, decades and sometimes even centuries. In this way, it is possible to investigate different scenes even a long time after some kind of incident happened in them.

In Israel, DNA tests are carried out in two laboratories: one, the forensics laboratory of the Israel Police, which deals with DNA testing of living people, and the other – the laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, which belongs to the Ministry of Health and examines findings from deceased persons.

And this is how the meticulous work is carried out: pieces of biological tissue are transferred from the area, such as blood stains, hairs, sperm, scales, pieces of skin or saliva, which are placed in sterile containers and transported to the laboratory.

Theoretically, any biological tissue can be tested in the field, but the environmental conditions in which the tissue stayed are important: the drier the material, the more accurate the result may be. A wet environment damages the quality of the results, due to bacteria and fungi contaminating the sample and causing the DNA to break down with their enzymes.

Now the arduous laboratory work begins: the samples go to the PCR test, a device that replicates DNA segments up to billions of times and allows genetic segments to be compared to other samples. The samples from the scene are compared to samples taken from relatives. Samples from living people are taken for genetic testing from the cheek, by lightly scratching with a swab left on it cells containing the hereditary material.

Since the genetic load of each person is a combination of 50% of the mother and 50% of the father, it is possible to obtain a genetic profile of 15 regions from the DNA, which are a combination of the pair of parents. identify the subject. The sample can also be compared to siblings, but then the accuracy level of the test is lower.

The DNA decoding can usually be obtained within eight hours, but with new methods it is possible to obtain results in as little as two hours. Indeed, the Israel Police’s response to Sinwar’s identification came within three hours of the announcement of the discovery of the body.

The methods of investigation are becoming more and more sophisticated: one of the latest tests that have recently entered various laboratories tests DNA from another area of ​​the cell: the mitochondria.

Mitochondrial DNA is preserved better than “normal” DNA, i.e. DNA from the cell nucleus, and it makes it possible to identify subjects and absentees even when there are no first-degree relatives. In this way, the mitochondrial DNA from a sample can be compared to that of the grandmother, if- The grandmother and so on back. With this technology, it is also possible to identify using a sample from bone remains in poor condition.

Already with the identification of the body, we published here in “Maariv” the opinion of orthodontic experts who confirmed that the structure of Sinvar’s teeth is the same as in the photo of the body. According to the experts, there are some unique characteristics in the jaw structure of the corpse, which is identical to that of Sinwar: according to most, the teeth are divided according to their unique number. According to the experts, tooth number 31 is significantly tilted, there is a gap known as “diastema” between teeth number 31 and 32. A similar gap is found between teeth 11 and 21. In addition, there is a fracture called “cracks” characteristic of tooth number 21. Meanwhile, tooth number 41 is higher than the occlusal plane.