Israeli mother pleads for her son as body of Thai hostage recovered
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as the families of hostages still in the territory pleaded for a ceasefire to allow their relatives to come home.
Israel's military continued its offensive on Saturday, killing at least 95 people in 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry, with hospital workers saying six people were killed while trying to get aid. More than 80 people have been killed over the past two weeks in shootings near new aid hubs, where thousands of desperate Palestinians are now being directed to collect food from a controversial group backed by Israel and the United States.
Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza and Israel says more than half are dead. Hamas issued an unusual warning about one hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he was held and that any harm that came to him during a rescue attempt would be Israel's responsibility. Israel's military didn't immediately comment.
Families rallied again in Israel on Saturday evening (Sunday AEST), calling for a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home, including Zangauker's mother, Einav.
'The decision to expand the [military] ground manoeuvre is at the cost of Matan's life and the lives of all the hostages,' she told the rally in Tel Aviv.
The Thai hostage whose body was recovered on Saturday was named as Nattapong Pinta. He had come to Israel to work in agriculture. Israel's government said he was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, which began on October 7, 2023. Thailand's foreign ministry said the bodies of two other Thai citizens were yet to be retrieved.
Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many lived on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, the first places overrun in the attack. Forty-six Thais have been killed during the war, according to the foreign ministry.
Israel's defence minister said Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza. The army said he was seized by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that also took two Israeli-American hostages, Judith Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were also retrieved on Thursday.
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