Israel says its military has retrieved body of Thai hostage from Gaza

Nattapong Pinta with his wife and son (Hostage’s Family Forum via AP)

Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped and taken into Gazaon October 7, 2023.

The country’s prime minister’s office said on Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation.

The announcement comes as Israel continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 22 people overnight, according to health officials.

Mr Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the Israeli government.

This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead.

Israel’s defence minister said on Saturday that Mr Pinta’s body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture.

A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Mr 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.

The retrieval of Mr Pinta’s body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people on Saturday.

One strike hit a flat killing seven people, including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital.

Israel said on Saturday that it is responding to Hamas’s “barbaric attacks” and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.