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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 623

ZAKA

Zaka personnel collect clothes that belong to the victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre, near the Israel-Gaza border, southern Israel, November 19, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
June 12, 2025, 11:04 pm
Report: Millions of shekels of post-October 7 donations to ZAKA have gone missing
Haaretz report, citing search and rescue group’s internal audit, claims at least NIS 30M donated to US Friends of ZAKA branch in 2023 never made it to the Israel-based nonprofit
By ToI Staff
Yossi Hoffman stands near the 'wall of cars' memorial at Tekuma. (Hadas Kuznits)
December 1, 2024, 10:14 am
Scarred by October 7, first responder copes with his trauma by BBQing for soldiers
Struggling to deal with what he saw while recovering bodies of Hamas victims, ZAKA’s Yossi Hoffman seeks solace by offering tours of affected sites, using funds for cookouts for troops
By Hadas Kuznits
Volunteers of ZAKA, a unique rescue and recovery group whose job is to collect the remains of the dead for burial in accordance with Jewish religious law, are guided by therapists as they take an ice bath during an organized activity session aimed at dealing with trauma from Hamas's October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, in Nes Harim, near Jerusalem, on November 17, 2024. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
November 24, 2024, 5:49 am
‘It healed my soul’: Therapy retreat helps ZAKA rescuers deal with trauma from Oct. 7
Many of unique organization’s mostly Haredi volunteers have struggled to move on after bearing witness to Hamas atrocities, as sing-along sessions and ice baths help them recover
By AFP
Alon Penzel speaks at a Government Press Office conference (Government Press Office)
July 19, 2024, 10:18 am
Israeli college student compiles unblinking guide to dark trail of Hamas massacre
Foreign Ministry to distribute to embassies and visiting delegations 23-year-old’s English-language book of uncensored testimonies from October 7 survivors, volunteers and medics
By Diana Bletter
ZAKA volunteers walk through the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as they collect dead bodies, October 15, 2023. (Edi Israel/ Flash90)
May 22, 2024, 10:59 pm
How 2 debunked accounts from ZAKA workers fueled global skepticism of Oct. 7 rape
Some stories which circulated in days following attack, attributed to volunteers, have proved untrue, including about a pregnant woman as well as a girl with her pants pulled down
By AP and ToI Staff
ZAKA personnel work at a field with destroyed cars from the October 7 massacre, near the Israel-Gaza border, December 12, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
February 6, 2024, 1:27 pm
ZAKA exploited Hamas’s October 7 attack to campaign for donations – report
Volunteers who worked alongside ZAKA accuse members of creating promotional content, inventing stories, and mishandling bodies in PR push
By ToI Staff
Weapons, recovered from Hamas terrorists following their murderous October 7 assault on southern Israel, on display at an army base in southern Israel, October 15, 2023. The weapons include guns, RPGs, mines and various types of explosive devices. (Israel Defense Forces)
December 18, 2023, 5:48 pm
ZAKA volunteer arrested for taking RPG launcher, other Oct. 7 weapons as souvenirs
Man says he ‘didn’t think it through’; judge criticizes police for throwing him behind bars and not showing sensitivity after he spent months collecting bodies
By ToI Staff
Jamal Waraqi, an Arab Israeli volunteer for the ZAKA rescue service, November 13, 2023. (Channel 12 screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
November 13, 2023, 2:15 pm
Arab ZAKA worker: ‘I had no idea where to start’; Oct. 7 massacre an affront to Islam
Jamal Waraqi describes shock over scenes in southern communities, says he keeps thinking about things he may have missed; urges all religious groups ‘to do our part for the country’
By ToI Staff
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority join the efforts to search for missing persons in the houses and cars that were incinerated in Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacre. (Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority)
November 7, 2023, 11:48 am
Trained to analyze ancient carnage, archaeologists locate victims among kibbutz ashes
Israel Antiquities Authority says remains of 10 people found in ‘heartrending and unfathomable’ effort to sift through burned homes in Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz and elsewhere
By Elana Kirsh and ToI Staff
(L) Ricarda Louk holds up a photo of her daughter Shani, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Photo on right is of Shani Louk. (courtesy, screen capture/X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
October 30, 2023, 3:25 pm
German-Israeli Shani Louk, seen paraded by terrorists in Gaza, confirmed dead
ZAKA rescue service identifies piece of skull in Israel, tells family she cannot be alive without it; parents express some relief that she’s not suffering, but funeral impossible
By ToI Staff
Danny Vovk (Courtesy)
October 25, 2023, 10:04 pm
Danny Vovk, 45: ZAKA diver ‘fended off 20 terrorists’ before death
Ukrainian immigrant with no immediate family was killed in Netiv Ha’asara, October 7
By ToI Staff
File - IDF reservist Haim Otmazgin commands a ZAKA mission to search for remains in Kibbutz Be'eri, devastated by the Hamas attack on October 7, photographed on October 20, 2023 (Carrie Keller-Lynn/The Times of Israel)
October 22, 2023, 7:08 pm
Two weeks after Hamas massacre, volunteers still searching ashes of ravaged Be’eri
Some 20% of kibbutz’s residents killed, abducted or declared missing following Oct. 7 onslaught; forensic teams combing through rubble to find answers for devastated families
By Carrie Keller-Lynn
Pini Einhorn hugs a child at a shiva in Israel in October 2023. (Courtesy: Pini Einhorn)
October 22, 2023, 3:03 pm
Not just prayers: War sparks unprecedented mobilization by ultra-Orthodox Israelis
Some 2,000 volunteer IDF soldiers are at the forefront of an effort that some hope will change the minority’s relationship with the rest of society long-term
By Canaan Lidor
A Zaka volunteer stands in front of a refrigerator truck, serving as a temporary mortuary for victims of Hamas' October 7 attack, at the Military Rabbinate's headquarters in Ramle, October 13, 2023. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
October 13, 2023, 8:12 pm
Awaiting ID, the bodies of Hamas’s victims are stacked on racks in outdoor containers
Most of the Israeli civilian bodies transferred to the Military Rabbinate for processing await ID, complicated by condition of the remains and availability of fingerprint records
By Carrie Keller-Lynn
The body of a 59-year-old man on board an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok May 1, 2023. (ZAKA)
May 1, 2023, 1:32 pm
Israeli man dies on El Al flight to Thailand
Medics unable to revive 59-year-old after he reports feeling unwell midflight, later collapses in plane’s bathroom
By Michael Horovitz
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