The Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. Pinta came to Israel to work in agriculture. He had a wife and son, News.az reports citing CBS News.com.
Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity early in the war, the government said. His body was recovered from the Rafah area, the Israeli Defense Minister said.
Israel said it found Pinta’s body based on information from the hostage task force and military intelligence. The army said he was taken to Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, a small armed group that it said also kidnapped and killed Shiri Bibas and her two young children.
A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Pinta’s family and shares in their grief. It called on the country’s decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial.
Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before Pinta’s body was retrieved, three Thai hostages remained in captivity and two were confirmed dead. The fate of Pinta was uncertain until today, according to the hostage forum.
Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead.
This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Judith Weinstein and Gad Haggai had been killed on October 7, and their bodies taken into Gaza. They had also lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz, CBS News previously reported. They had also been taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades.
The retrieval of Pinta’s body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people Saturday.
Four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, one strike hit an apartment, killing seven people, including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital.
Israel said Saturday that it’s responding to Hamas’ “barbaric attacks” and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 55 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
