Israel confirms Thai hostage

Israeli and Thai officials said Thursday that the remains handed over to Israel by militants in Gaza had been identified as the last Thai hostage taken during the Hamas-led terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 that sparked the war.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said it was notified by Israeli authorities that the remains of a hostage returned Wednesday were identified as Sudhisak Rinthalak, a Thai national who was an agricultural worker at a kibbutz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed in a statement that Rinthalak’s remains were identified by Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for the Thai ministry, said Sudhisak’s family had been notified. He added that Sudhisak was killed on the day of the October 7 attack and his body was taken to Gaza.

He thanked the Israeli government for its help, which led to the release of all Thai hostages.

In total, 20 live hostages and the remains of another 27 have been returned to Israel for US-brokered ceasefire began in early October. The returns are a key part of the terms of a shaky ceasefire, which has held despite Hamas and Israel. accusing each other of violations.

With the return of Rinthalak’s remains, the body of only one hostage is believed to remain in Gaza, that of Ran Gvili, bringing the two sides closer to concluding the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Gvili served in an elite Israeli police unit. After helping people escape from new music festival During the October 7 attack, he died fighting elsewhere and his body was transferred to Gaza. The military confirmed his death four months later. He is survived by his parents and a sister.

“The Government and the entire Directorate for Hostages and Missing Persons of the State of Israel are determined, committed and working tirelessly to return the fighter and hero of the National Counter-Terrorism Unit, Staff Sergeant Ran Gvili, for a proper Jewish burial,” Netanyahu’s office said Thursday.

Since the beginning of the ceasefire, Israel has released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of hostages or their remains. Most of the Palestinian remains have not yet been formally identified.