Israel retrieves the body of a Thai hostage as 95 people are reported killed in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel said Saturday it retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as Israel's military continued its offensive, killing at least 95 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Nattapong Pinta 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 Oct. 7, 2023.
Thailand's foreign ministry said the bodies of two other 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 defense 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, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrieved on Thursday.
Israel's military later said it killed the head of the Mujahideen Brigades, As'ad Aby Sharaiya, in Gaza City on Saturday.
Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza. Israel says more than half are dead. Families rallied again Saturday evening in Israel, calling for a cease-fire deal to bring everyone home.
Hamas issued an unusual warning about another hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he's 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.
"The decision to expand the (military) ground maneuver is at the cost of Matan's life and the lives of all the hostages," Zangauker's mother, Einav, told the rally in Tel Aviv.
A strike in Gaza City killed six members of a family, including two children, according to the Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals. Israel's military said the strike targeted the Mujahideen Brigades leader.
"This is the real destruction," a man said as he carried the body of a small boy from the scene.
Four Israeli strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, a strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital.
"Stand up, my love," one weeping woman said, touching the shrouded bodies.
Israel said it was responding to Hamas' "barbaric attacks" and dismantling its capabilities. It said it takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.
Staff at Nasser hospital, which received the bodies of six people over the past 24 hours, said they were killed while on their way to get food aid. Much of Gaza's population of over 2 million relies on aid after widespread destruction of agriculture as well as a recent Israeli blockade. Experts have warned of famine.
Israel's army has warned that the aid distribution area is an active combat zone during nighttime hours. It said several suspects attempted to approach troops operating in the Tel al-Sultan area overnight "in a manner that posed a threat." The army said troops called out, then fired warning shots as the suspects advanced.
An army official who couldn't be named in line with military procedures said the shots were fired about a kilometer (half-mile) from the distribution site.
Over the past weeks, shootings have occurred frequently near the new hubs where thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed, according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel's military has said it fired warning shots or, in some instances, at individuals approaching.
The hubs are run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants it to replace a system coordinated by the United Nations and aid groups.
A GHF spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules, said it didn't feed Gaza residents on Saturday and blamed Hamas threats. There was no immediate Hamas response.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid under the UN-led system. The UN and aid groups deny there's significant diversion of aid to militants and say the new system — which they have rejected — allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and won't be effective.
The UN says it has been unable to distribute much aid under its system because of Israeli military restrictions on movements and insecurity.
Separately, Palestinians lined up at a soup kitchen in Gaza City for handouts on the second day of Eid al-Adha .
"I have been standing here for more than an hour and a half. I feel I have a sunstroke, and I am in need," said Farida al-Sayed, who said she had six people to feed. "I only had lentils, and I ran out of them."
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most were released in cease-fire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Hamas-run Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
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