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.
Responding to the incidents, 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.
