Israeli military retrieves body of Thai hostage from Gaza, defence minister says
CAIRO: The Israeli military has retrieved the body of Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who has been held in Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday.
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New Straits Times
18 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Mass graves: A journalist's journey Into Malaysia's darkest chapter
WHEN journalists dig deep, ask hard questions, and refuse to let go, they become more than storytellers — they become catalysts for truth. Their relentless pursuit can shine a light on hidden crimes, expose wrongdoing and give voice to those silenced by fear or power. In a world where so much is buried beneath spin, silence or indifference, journalism remains one of the last lines of defence against injustice. Veteran journalist Datuk S. Arulldas was on the trail of a Penang-based human trafficking syndicate in 2015 when information from his police contacts led him to Perlis. It was a lead that would take him deep into a chilling web of crime and silence. For journalists like Arulldas, the pursuit of truth isn't just a job; it's a calling. Their dogged determination to follow the facts, no matter how remote or risky, has the power to uncover buried truths, expose hidden atrocities and push authorities into action. In this case, that pursuit would bring him face to face with one of Malaysia's darkest chapters. Combing through dense jungle, steep terrain and a wall of bureaucracy — from uncooperative security personnel to high-ranking officials — Arulldas and his steadfast photographer, Sayuti Zainudin, pushed forward. What they uncovered were Malaysia's own killing fields: 139 remains buried in shallow graves, scattered across remote forested slopes. Their discovery led to the exposure of hidden human trafficking camps along the border — grim evidence of a cross-border trade in human misery that had flourished in silence for too long. He has chronicled his journey in a book titled Mass Graves: Uncovering the Killing Fields of Wang Kelian. The book is a compelling account of the investigation, pieced together with a collection of newspaper clippings, photographs, and personal notes that offer a behind-the-scenes look at how investigative journalism operates in Malaysia. It not only documents the horrors uncovered in the Perlis jungle, but also sheds light on the perseverance, risks and resistance journalists often face when pursuing stories that challenge power and expose uncomfortable truths. Prompted by a spate of grisly murders involving Myanmar nationals in Penang, Arulldas began digging deeper. His investigation revealed troubling links between the killings and human trafficking networks, which soon led him to the country's northern border and a tip that would change everything. While seated at a coffee shop in Jitra, Kedah, just before heading to the border, Arulldas and Sayuti met a contact who dropped a bombshell. "He told us there were mass graves of migrants at Bukit Wang Burma, near Wang Kelian," Arulldas later wrote. Wang Kelian, located at the northernmost part of Perlis, shares a border with Wang Prachan in the Khuan Don District of Satun Province, southern Thailand. The contact revealed that a retired senior Thai army officer and his wife had recently been arrested by Thai authorities in connection with a human trafficking network and the discovery of mass graves. But when pressed for further details, he remained tight-lipped, insisting that if the journalist wanted answers, he'd have to find the graves himself. Sensing a story, Arulldas turned to his photographer and asked, "Shall we go?" Sayuti agreed without hesitation, and just like that, their journey veered off course. "It was a different kind of feeling when we arrived in Wang Kelian," Arulldas recalls. "It felt strange… like we weren't in Malaysia anymore. It was dusk. The houses were dark, the roads empty. Everything looked deserted." That evening, their first attempt to locate the mass graves was quickly called off. They had no maps, no landmarks and weren't equipped to navigate the forest reserve. "We didn't want to get lost in the jungle at night," he says wryly. Undeterred by the initial setback, Arulldas pressed on. He followed every lead, tracked down contacts and spoke to anyone who might help him find the mass graves believed to be hidden deep within the forest. Each encounter brought new challenges, from vague directions to hesitant sources. What stands out in his account isn't just the information he uncovered, but the relentless way he pursued it. Despite the uncertainty, the risks and the many obstacles, he never gave up. His tenacity, grounded in a journalist's instinct, carried him forward in search of a story that many would have walked away from. The then 60-year-old Arulldas went on to risk life and limb, trekking through dense forest terrain with guides he barely knew. "My legs were swollen and at that time, I nearly gave up so many times along the way," he recalls. "But my guides kept urging me on. They said, 'You've come this far. Just a little more.'" Eventually, he reached a small clearing where the ground had been crudely disturbed. Open graves lay before him, the surfaces loosely covered with palm fronds. He'd found the mass graves. "It was a human tragedy," he says soberly. "I feel it shouldn't have happened. These people were looking for greener pastures. They shouldn't have had to die or be killed. I felt such deep sadness and pity." Ten years on, the now 70-year-old reflects on that day and quietly admits it was the defining moment of his career. Yet a decade later, he concedes that more questions remain than answers. Still, the story demands to be told. "All we can do as journalists is expose the truth," he writes. "To put faces to a marginalised group that might otherwise remain nothing more than inconvenient statistics, too easily brushed aside." Arulldas' book is a courageous and unflinching account of a tragedy Malaysia has yet to fully confront. It stands as a testament to lives lost, justice denied, and the silence that continues to hang over Wang Kelian. Somewhere in Kedah, the victims lie buried under nameless headstones, marked only by DNA codes. Their stories remain untold, their identities unknown and the truth behind their deaths still cloaked in silence. Publisher: Gerakbudaya Enterprise 133 pages
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Gaza rescuers say Israel fire kills 36, six of them near aid centre
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military told AFP that troops had fired 'warning shots' at individuals that it said were 'advancing in a way that endangered the troops'. The shooting deaths were the latest reported near the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in the southern district of Rafah and came after it resumed distributions following a brief suspension in the wake of similar deaths earlier this week. Meanwhile, an aid boat with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was nearing Gaza in a bid to highlight the plight of Palestinians in the face of an Israeli blockade that has only been partially eased. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), 'six people were killed and several others wounded by the forces of the Israeli occupation near the Al-Alam roundabout', where they had gathered to seek humanitarian aid from the distribution centre around a kilometre (a little over half a mile) away. AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls compiled by the civil defence agency or the circumstances of the deaths it reports. Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday, told AFP that thousands of people had gathered near the roundabout. 'As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,' Abu Hadid said. The GHF said in a statement it had not distributed aid on Saturday because of 'direct threats' from Hamas. It said it was adapting its operations to 'overcome these threats' and planned to 'resume distributions without delay'. Activist boat nears Gaza The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month-long aid blockade. UN agencies and major aid groups have declined to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,772, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. The aid boat Madleen, organised by an international activist coalition, was sailing towards Gaza on Saturday, aiming to breach Israel's naval blockade and deliver aid to the territory, organisers said. 'We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast,' German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. She said they expected to reach Gaza by Monday morning. The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before Hamas's October 2023 attack and the Israeli military has made clear it intends to enforce it. 'For this case as well, we are prepared,' army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Tuesday. 'We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.' A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. Body of Thai hostage recovered The Israeli military has stepped up its operations in Gaza in recent weeks in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. On Saturday, the military issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, saying they had been used for rocket attacks. Meanwhile the World Health Organisation said in a statement there were no functioning hospitals left in northern Gaza and said the healthcare system in the territory was collapsing. It also warned that the last two functioning hospitals in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza were at risk and called for them to be protected. Separately, in a special operation in the Rafah area on Friday, Israeli forces retrieved the body of Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said the country was 'deeply saddened' by his death. Also on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health, with a warning that he would not survive. During the October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. bur-kir/dcp/ysm
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
36 Killed in Gaza as Aid Crisis Deepens, Boat Nears Blockade
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military told AFP that troops had fired 'warning shots' at individuals that it said were 'advancing in a way that endangered the troops'. The shooting deaths were the latest reported near the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in the southern district of Rafah and came after it resumed distributions following a brief suspension in the wake of similar deaths earlier this week. Meanwhile, an aid boat with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was nearing Gaza in a bid to highlight the plight of Palestinians in the face of an Israeli blockade that has only been partially eased. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), 'six people were killed and several others wounded by the forces of the Israeli occupation near the Al-Alam roundabout', where they had gathered to seek humanitarian aid from the distribution centre around a kilometre (a little over half a mile) away. AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls compiled by the civil defence agency or the circumstances of the deaths it reports. Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday, told AFP that thousands of people had gathered near the roundabout. 'As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians,' Abu Hadid said. The GHF said in a statement it had not distributed aid on Saturday because of 'direct threats' from Hamas. It said it was adapting its operations to 'overcome these threats' and planned to 'resume distributions without delay'. Activist boat nears Gaza The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month-long aid blockade. UN agencies and major aid groups have declined to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,772, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. The aid boat Madleen, organised by an international activist coalition, was sailing towards Gaza on Saturday, aiming to breach Israel's naval blockade and deliver aid to the territory, organisers said. 'We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast,' German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. She said they expected to reach Gaza by Monday morning. The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before Hamas's October 2023 attack and the Israeli military has made clear it intends to enforce it. 'For this case as well, we are prepared,' army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Tuesday. 'We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.' A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. Body of Thai hostage recovered The Israeli military has stepped up its operations in Gaza in recent weeks in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. On Saturday, the military issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, saying they had been used for rocket attacks. Meanwhile the World Health Organisation said in a statement there were no functioning hospitals left in northern Gaza and said the healthcare system in the territory was collapsing. It also warned that the last two functioning hospitals in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza were at risk and called for them to be protected. Separately, in a special operation in the Rafah area on Friday, Israeli forces retrieved the body of Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said the country was 'deeply saddened' by his death. Also on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health, with a warning that he would not survive. During the October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. bur-kir/dcp/ysm
