Israel says it has retrieved body of kidnapped Thai hostage from Gaza

Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on 7 October.

The prime minister’s office said that the body of Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel “in a special military operation”.

Mr Pinta, who had a wife and son, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the government.

Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said that Mr Pinta’s body was retrieved from the Rafah area. The 36-year-old went to Israel to work in agriculture.

Mr Katz wrote in a post on X: “I send my deepest condolences to his wife, his young son, and his family, and I thank our heroic fighters who operate under fire time and again to bring back all the hostages, driven by a deep moral commitment.

“We will not rest until all the hostages, the living and the fallen, are returned to Israel.”

The Hostage Families Forum said in a statement: “We stand with Nattapong’s family today and share in their grief.

“While the pain is immense, his family will finally have certainty after 20 terrible and agonising months of devastating uncertainty.

“Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey.

“We emphasise once again that decision-makers must do everything necessary to reach an agreement that will bring back all 55 remaining hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial.”

Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead.

On Thursday, Israel retrieved the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai, both of whom had Israeli and US citizenship.