Israel recovers body of Thai hostage kidnapped by Hamas

Nattapong Pinta was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and was killed in captivity early in the war according to the government.The body of Thai citizen was returned to Israel in a special military operation

Tel Aviv: Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who was kidnapped into Gaza on Oct 7, 2023. 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 was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and was killed in captivity early in the war according to the government. Thai nationals were the largest group of foreign workers held captive by Hamas militants. The recovery comes just two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved.

---

Fifty-five hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. The Defence Minister said on Saturday that Pinta’s body was recovered from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture.

On Thursday, Israel retrieved the bodies of Judith Weinstein and Gad Haggai, both of whom held dual Israeli and US citizenship. The recovery operation took place as Israel continues its military offensive in Gaza. At least 22 people were reportedly killed by Israeli air strikes overnight from Friday into Saturday.