IDF recovers body of Thai hostage
The Israeli military has recovered the body of a Thai national who was held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
The remains of Nattapong Pinta were recovered in a special operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza.
Mr Pinta was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the Oct 7 2023 attack on Israel, and he was killed in captivity shortly after being taken, the IDF said.
He had been working as a farm labourer on the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel, just a few miles east of Gaza's border, when he was abducted.
The Thai national is the most recent hostage whose body has been found. On Thursday, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of US-Israeli dual citizens Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70, and Gad Haggai, 72, who were both residents of the same kibbutz where Mr Pinta worked.
Israeli authorities have said they believe all three of the recently found hostages were murdered by the terrorists who kidnapped them.
The attack that Hamas launched on Oct 7 surprised and devastated Israel, with the terrorist group killing more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of security personnel, and taking over 200 hostages.
About 30 Thais were abducted that day. Roughly two-thirds of those kidnapped on Oct 7 were subsequently released as part of deals between Israel and Hamas. Forty-six Thais have been killed during the conflict, the Thai foreign affairs ministry has said.
The war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Oct 7 attack, continues to rage on in Gaza. Attempts to broker a ceasefire and peace deal have repeatedly hit roadblocks. Hamas has rejected proposed deals that do not guarantee a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip and an end to the war.
Mr Pinta, 36, who is survived by a young son and wife, was among those taken after he'd migrated to Israel as an agricultural labourer in 2022.
At the time of the Oct 7 attack, there were about 30,000 Thai migrant workers in Israel. Many of them returned home primarily via government evacuation flights, and some vowed never to return, given the risks they faced due to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Since then, however, the Thai government has continued to grant permissions for its citizens to work in Israel.
Thais remain the largest group of foreign farm workers in Israel, with about 38,000 in the country, according to Thai officials.
There are 55 hostages remaining in Gaza, though only about 20 of them are believed to still be alive, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel said its expanded offensive in the Strip, named Operation Gideon's Chariot, will increase the chances of returning the missing.
However, many of the hostages' families have expressed alarm at the new tactic of seizing and holding territory, which follows heavy bombardment, and are urging Benjamin Netanyahu to make a deal with Hamas.
The Thai Embassy has been notified about Mr Pinta, according to the prime minister's office.
'We express our deep gratitude and appreciation to our brave commanders and soldiers for this important and successful operation,' said a statement from Netanyahu's office.
'We will not rest and we will not be silent until all our hostages are brought home – both the living and the deceased.'
'We stand with Nattapong's family today and share in their grief,' an Israeli hostage support group said in a statement.
'While the pain is immense, his family will finally have certainty after 20 terrible and agonising months of devastating uncertainty,' the statement said. 'Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey.'
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