Israel on Saturday said it had recovered the body of a Thai hostage taken into Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
The announcement came as fighting intensified, with Gaza health officials reporting at least 95 more Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours.
The Thai hostage was identified as Nattapong Pinta, who had travelled to Israel to work in agriculture and was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October attack that sparked the ongoing war.
Israel said his body was recovered in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. Authorities believe he was killed early in the war.
Pinta’s remains were reportedly retrieved in an operation against the Mujahideen Brigades, a small armed group which had taken responsibility for several hostages. The Israeli military also said it killed the group's leader, As’ad Aby Sharaiya, in a separate strike in Gaza City.
According to Thailand’s foreign ministry, two more Thai citizens are still unaccounted for. Thailand had one of the highest numbers of foreign nationals abducted in the Hamas assault, with many Thai workers employed on farms near Israel’s southern border. At least 46 Thai nationals have died during the conflict, the ministry said.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant confirmed the retrieval. Fifty-five hostages are believed to remain in Gaza. Israel says more than half of them are no longer alive.
Families of hostages gathered again in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, urging the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire agreement and secure the release of those still held.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued across Gaza, with reports of entire families being killed. One strike in Gaza City killed six members of a family, including two children, according to doctors at Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals. Another strike in northern Gaza reportedly killed seven people, including a mother and five children.
The war has left over 54,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israel says its actions are in response to the October 7 attacks, which killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the abduction of 251 hostages. Only eight have been rescued alive so far.
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