Body of Thai national returned from Gaza, Israeli authorities say

Washington Post

5 hours ago

The remains of a Thai citizen who was kidnapped by Hamas-led fighters in the attack of Oct. 7, 2023, has been returned to Israel from Gaza after a military operation, Israeli authorities said Saturday.
The status of Nattapong Pinta, an agricultural worker and married father, was previously unknown. His body was recovered from the Rafah area after a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet, Israel's security agency, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Nattapong had come to Israel 'hoping to build a better future for himself and his family,' Katz said. He said he was killed in captivity by the Palestinian militant group Mujahedeen Brigades.
'I send my heartfelt condolences to his wife, his young son, and his family,' Katz said.
Israeli authorities have also blamed the Mujahedeen Brigades for the deaths of Judi Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai, an Israeli-American couple whose bodies were returned to Israel this week, and of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, returned in February.
The bodies of two more Israeli Americans — Omer Neutra and Itay Chen — are believed to still be in Gaza.
Nattapong was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 attack, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. His remains were identified and Nattapong's family and the Thai government have been notified, they said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar informed his Thai counterpart, Maris Sangiampongsa, of the details of the operation, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. Israel will hold a ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport before the departure of Nattapong's coffin for Thailand, Saar said.
The Thai foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel in the surprise attack on Oct. 7 and took another 250 hostage. Israel responded with a military campaign to eradicate the militants that has killed more than 54,000 people, Gaza health officials say.
Nattapong was one of five workers kidnapped who were Kibbutz Nir Or in the Negev Desert. He was 35 when he was taken, according to the Israeli foreign ministry and hostage advocacy groups (the kibbutz on Saturday said he was 36). Eleven other workers were killed in the attack.
Nattapong's recovery followed 'a long period in which there was a grave concern for his life,' the kibbutz said in a statement.
'His family, wife and son, waited for him in pain and concern, ' it said. 'Kibbutz Nir Oz shares the grief of the family and will accompany them at any time.'
The field crops team remembered him as a 'diligent and loved person' who was always willing to help. 'He left a mark on everyone who knew him and, of course, on all the field crops workers, who will always remember and honor him,' the team said in a statement.
Many Thai nationals work in agriculture in Israel, some of them in military zones that are closed to other civilians. Forty-one Thai citizens were killed on Oct. 7, The Washington Post has reported. Five Thai nationals were released in January as part of a ceasefire exchange in which Israel freed 110 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the return of Nattapong's body would bring a sense of closure to his family after '20 terrible and agonizing months of devastating uncertainty.'
'Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey,' the forum said in a statement.
Families of the hostages have repeatedly urged Israeli officials to negotiate an end to the war in Gaza as the safest and quickest way to bring their loved ones home. Israeli leaders have vowed to continue the war until the remaining hostages are handed over and Hamas is destroyed.
Saturday was the second day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, a time of prayer, visiting with family and feasting. In Gaza, already gripped by hunger, the celebration this year has been limited by shortages of meat, sugar, flour and vegetables. What food can be found in the market is prohibitively expensive for most Gazans, Palestinians say.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund, the new aid system backed by Israel and the United States, said it would close temporarily on Saturday after its rollout last month was marred by chaos and violence.
The organization, launched after an Israeli blockade on aid from March to May, distributes aid from remote sites guarded by armed security contractors in areas controlled by the Israeli military. But it has struggled to manage crowds. More than 50 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid between Sunday and Tuesday, the deadliest period since it started operating, according to Nasser Hospital, the Gaza health ministry and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Palestinians say Israeli forces are deployed around distribution points and have fired at Palestinians trying to reach them. The IDF has said it has fired 'warning shots' toward people approaching Israeli forces but denies targeting civilians. On Wednesday, the IDF said the areas were 'closed military zones' outside of operational hours.
Israel continues to launch airstrikes on Gaza. The IDF in recent days has reiterated evacuation orders for areas of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where much of the population has been squeezed. The last two hospitals operating in the area, Nasser and al-Amal, have not been ordered to evacuate, though they fall in or close to the evacuation zone, according to the World Health Organization.
The U.N. health agency warned Thursday that the overstretched facilities 'are at high risk of becoming nonfunctional' due to potential 'movement restrictions, insecurity, and the inability of WHO and partners to resupply or transfer patients.' There are no functioning hospitals left in North Gaza governorate, according to the WHO.