 |
|
|
.-') _ .-') _ |
|
( OO ) ) ( OO ) ) |
|
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,' |
|
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\ |
|
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | ) |
|
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/ |
|
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ | |
|
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ | |
|
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--' |
|
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial |
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE VIEW: |
|
|
|
• |
|
|
|
3 min read |
|
|
|
Israeli military says it recovered body of Thai hostage from southern |
|
Gaza |
|
|
|
By Oren Liebermann, CNN |
|
|
|
Updated: |
|
|
|
4:39 PM EDT, Sat June 7, 2025 |
|
|
|
Source: CNN |
|
|
|
The body of a Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted alive |
|
during the October 7 attacks was recovered from southern in a military |
|
operation on Friday, according to a statement from the Israeli military |
|
and the Shin Bet security service. |
|
|
|
The announcement comes after Israel recovered the bodies of two |
|
Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. |
|
|
|
Pinta, 35, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel where he |
|
had been working in agriculture, according to an Israeli military |
|
official, who said it is estimated that he was killed during the first |
|
months of captivity. Pinta was a husband and father working in Israel |
|
to support his family in Thailand, the official said. |
|
|
|
“We will not rest until all the hostages, living and deceased, are |
|
returned home,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. |
|
|
|
“The state of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of Nattapong’s |
|
family and of the entire Thai people,” said Israeli President Isaac |
|
Herzog in a statement shared on social media Saturday evening. |
|
|
|
Pinta was abducted by the Mujahideen, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) |
|
said, a militant group that took part in the Hamas-led October 7 terror |
|
attack on Israel. The IDF said it is the same organization that |
|
kidnapped the Bibas family and killed Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, the |
|
mother and two young sons who became the most prominent among Hamas’ |
|
captives. |
|
|
|
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday that it was |
|
“deeply saddened” by the news of Pinta’s death. |
|
|
|
“The Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv was informed by a representative |
|
of the Israeli government that Mr. Nattapong Pinta, the last Thai |
|
hostage, has been confirmed dead,” Nikorndej Balankura, a |
|
spokesperson for the ministry, said in a video statement. |
|
|
|
Earlier this week, Israel announced that the bodies of Judy |
|
Winston-Haggai, 70, and Gadi Haggai, 72, were recovered from southern |
|
Gaza. The two were also taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The couple had four |
|
children and seven grandchildren. |
|
|
|
The retrieval of Pinta’s body comes with an intense Israeli operation |
|
underway in Gaza, with the Civil Defense reporting at least 38 people |
|
were killed in Israeli attacks on Friday. |
|
|
|
The IDF said four soldiers were killed and five wounded early Friday |
|
morning when an explosive was detonated in a building in Khan Younis in |
|
which they were operating, causing part of the structure to collapse. |
|
|
|
A total of 55 hostages remain in Gaza, including one taken in 2014. |
|
Twenty are believed to still be alive. |
|
|
|
Of the 251 people taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7, many |
|
were migrant workers from poor rural parts of Asia, who had gone to |
|
work in Israel’s agricultural, construction and health care sectors |
|
to send money back home. |
|
|
 |
<- back to index |
