Israel returned the remains of a Syrian refugee who drowned while at sea to Syria on Monday. His body washed ashore to Israel’s territory.
The discussions between Israel and Syria were mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross which thanked both parties for their help in arranging the return.
The remains were transferred from the Golan Heights to Syria after the ICRC passed to Syria DNA samples which enabled the authorities there to locate his family.
“The object of our involvement in this case was to protect the dignity of the dead and allow the family to fulfil their right to know where their loved one is,” the ICRC reported.
It was not reported to which data bank Syrian authorities compared the DNA data.
The massive influx of Syrian refugees seeking safety in Turkey and other countries led to thousands of deaths as people perished en route to a better life. In Italy, Cristina Cattaneo – a world famous forensic scientist – is hard at work to identify the remains of those who died attempting to cross the sea from North Africa to Europe, Scientific American reported in 2017.
Roughly 10,000 people have died since 2015 as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean.