Latest news with #HamasAttack
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Israel Recovers Body of Thai Farmworker in Gaza
Israelis security forces have recovered the body of a Thai citizen who was abducted and taken back to Gaza in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the military said on Saturday. Nattapong Pinta was in his 30s and was a farmworker at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel when he was taken hostage. He was held and later killed by members of the Mujahideen Brigades, a small militant group in Gaza, according to the Israeli military statement. Security forces brought the body back from the Rafah area in southern Gaza after the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency obtained intelligence from a Palestinian militant during an interrogation, the statement added. Palestinian militants took dozens of Thai farmworkers hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. During a short cease-fire in November 2023, 23 Thai captives were released and five others were released during another cease-fire this year. Israel believes the bodies of two other Thai citizens, Sonthaya Oakkharasri and Sudthisak Rinthalak, remain in Gaza, according to Yahel Kurlander, a sociologist who has been fighting for the release of Thai hostages. The latest hostage retrieval brings the number of remaining living and dead captives believed to still be held in Gaza to 55. The Israeli government has said that up to 23 are believed to be alive. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, updated his Thai counterpart, Maris Sangiampongsa, about the details of the operation to bring the Thai farmworker's body back to Israel, according to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. He was married and has a son, the ministry said. He had been in Israel for more than a year when he was taken hostage, and he was a strong personality who acted as a bridge between other Thai farmworkers at Nir Oz and employers, according to Josh Lawson, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office who deals with foreign hostages.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Body of Thai hostage has been retrieved in Gaza, Israel defence minister says
The body of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai national taken hostage during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, has been recovered from Rafah in southern Gaza, defence minister Israel Katz said. Mr Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the border with Gaza that suffered heavy losses during the Hamas-led attack. One in four residents were either killed or taken hostage. Mr Katz said Mr Pinta's body had been held by the Palestinian militant group, the Mujahedeen Brigades. The Israeli military said Mr Pinta was abducted alive and later killed by his captors, who were also responsible for the deaths of two Israeli-American hostages whose bodies were recovered earlier this week. Mr Pinta's family in Thailand has been notified. There has been no immediate comment from the militant group. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in the 2023 attack, Israel's deadliest day, and took 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza. Twenty hostages are believed to still be alive, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded to the Hamas attacks with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities in the Hamas-run strip, and left much of the enclave in ruins, with a population of more than 2 million people largely displaced. Authorities in Israel have come under pressure in recent days for shootings which have occurred in the vicinity of aid hubs where Palestinians have been directed to collect food. Several aid sites ran by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation have now temporarily ceased operations after dozens of Palestinians have been killed in recent days. , Sir Keir Starmer called Israel's actions in the region 'appalling, counterproductive and intolerable,' telling MPs that sanctions on members of the country's government were under consideration.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza, says Israeli defence minister
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who had been held in Gaza since Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023, according to defence minister, Israel Katz. . Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian militant group called the Mujahideen Brigades, and was retrieved from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified. Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz, a small community near the border, where one in four people was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas-led 2023 attack. The Israeli military said Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved this week. There was no immediate comment from the militant group. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in the 2023 attack, Israel's deadliest day, and took 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza. Twenty hostages are believed to still be alive, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded to the Hamas attacks with a military campaign that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities in the Hamas-run strip, and left much of the enclave in ruins, with a population of more than 2 million people largely displaced.
LBCI
5 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israeli PM says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the bodies of two Israelis killed in Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel. "In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Judy and Gad were murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip," he added. AFP
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Bodies of two Israeli-American hostages recovered from Gaza
Israel says it has recovered the bodies of two hostages taken in Hamas's October 7 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai had been recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. "Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed," he said in a statement. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced the deaths of Ms Weinstein, 70, and Mr Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and US citizenship, in December 2023. The military said they were killed in the October 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The army said it recovered the remains of Ms Weinstein and Mr Haggai overnight into Thursday from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The couple were taking an early morning walk near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of October 7 when Hamas militants burst across the border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. In the early hours of the morning, Ms Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot and send a message to her family. The couple were survived by two sons and two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said. Ms Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza. Mr Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician. "My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty," their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and US governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages. Hamas-led militants are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly two million Palestinians. The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker another ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended an earlier truce in March and imposed a blockade that has raised fears of famine, despite being eased in recent weeks. But the talks appear to be deadlocked. Hamas says it will release the remaining hostages only in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee. Mr Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. He has said Israel will maintain control over Gaza indefinitely and will facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and much of the international community have rejected such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. How many hostages are left in Gaza? Here are details on the hostages: Total hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023: 251 Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4, including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of whom 8 were dead Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 43 Hostages rescued alive: 8 Hostages still in captivity: 56, of whom Israel believes 33 are dead. Netanyahu has said there are 'doubts' about the fate of several more. The hostages in captivity include: 5 non-Israelis ( 3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 3 (2 Thais and 1 Tanzanian) have been confirmed dead
