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Appendix 2Forensic pathologyThree forensic pathologists on the FFM teams 1 analysed 370 photographs of decedent bodies,belonging to a minimum of 75 cases. These photos were copied from Gaza’s Forensics Departmentphoto archive. The photographic samples were copied randomly and it was the conclusion of theteam that they are authentic. Within the limitations of evaluating the injuries described above, 2the general impression received from these photographs regarding types of injuries causingdeath can be described as follows:The bodies, belonging to men, women and children, have multiple lacerations of various sizes,some have limb amputations and others have severe crush injuries. Some bodies also havesevere burn injuries. The majority of the cases examined show a combination of all injurytypes. In some cases, the gender and age of the decedents were not identifiable (e.g., only piledseparated body parts). Although the total body surfaces are not shown in any of the cases, allphotos sufficient for diagnosis show wounds characteristic of explosion injuries. The patternsof the injuries do not give indications of any specific type of explosive ammunition. Among theinjuries that we have seen, there were no obvious gunshot wounds 3 .Conclusions:1. The information provided by the photographs was somewhat limited by technique of examination.2. The majority of the injuries were characteristic of explosion injuries.3. The majority of the decedents suffered multiple injuries of various types of trauma (e.g.,burns, blunt trauma and perforation injuries in a single decedent). This finding confirms thesimilar situation described in patients treated in hospital.4. Several photographs demonstrated the presence of a white-gray powder material over bodysurfaces. It was not possible to determine whether this was detritus from collapsed buildingsor some other material connected with the explosion. Therefore, the tissue samples collectedand retained by the Forensics Department require further scientific evaluation.1 Prof. Hans Petter Hougen, Dr. Karen Kelly and Dr. Önder Özkalipci2 See Part A, 4. ‘Limitations’.3 With the exception of one possible gunshot wound, see below at DSC 02880.225