Israel says it retrieved the body of a Thai hostage taken to Gaza when the war began
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel said Saturday it had retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war against Hamas.
The prime minister's office said Nattapong Pinta's body was returned to Israel in a special military operation. Pinta was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, the government said.
Thailand's foreign ministry in a statement confirmed that the last Thai hostage in Gaza was confirmed dead. It said the bodies of two others are yet to be retrieved. Israel's defense minister said Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza. He had come to Israel to work in agriculture.
The news came two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, and Israel says more than half are dead.
The army said Pinta was seized by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The same group took the two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrieved Thursday.
Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's foreign ministry.
Separately, Hamas issued an unusual warning about another hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he is held and that any harm to him during a rescue attempt would be Israel's responsibility.
Israel has continued its military offensive across Gaza.
Four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, one 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.
Another strike in Gaza City killed six members of a family, including two children, according to the Shifa and al-Ahli hospitals.
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, where six of the bodies over the past 24 hours were taken, said they were killed while on their way to get food aid. Much of Gaza's population of over 2 million now relies on such aid after widespread destruction of agriculture and markets as well as a recent Israeli blockade of two and a half months. Experts have warned of famine in the territory.
Israel's army said that despite warnings that the distribution area is an active combat zone during nighttime hours, several suspects attempted to approach troops operating in the Tel al-Sultan area overnight 'in a manner that posed a threat to the troops.' The army said troops called out, but as the suspects continued advancing, they fired warning shots.
Shootings have occurred frequently near the new hubs where thousands of desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. The hubs are run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants the GHF to replace humanitarian groups in Gaza that distribute aid in coordination with the United Nations.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid under the U.N.-led system. The U.N. and aid groups deny there is 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.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 2023 attack and abducted 251 hostages. Most were released in ceasefire 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 does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Mednick and Jahjouh write for the Associated Press. This story has been corrected to note that the previous bodies were recovered on Thursday, not Friday. Jahjouh reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press reporter Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut, Lebanon. Follow the AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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