Body of Thai Hostage Recovered In Gaza

Israeli troops recovered the body of hostage Pinta Nattapong in a special IDF and Shin Bet operation in the Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.

Nattapong, a Thai national, was abducted by Hamas-led terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023.

According to the statement, Nattapong was murdered in captivity by the Mujahideen Brigades, a relatively small terror group in the Strip, which was also responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir.

Intelligence obtained during a Shin Bet interrogation of a Palestinian terror operative who was detained in Gaza led the IDF to the location of the slain Thai hostage, whose body was recovered from southern Gaza’s Rafah yesterday.

The IDF believes that Nattapong was abducted alive by Mujahideen Brigades terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war.

The exact circumstances of his death and date are currently unknown and are under investigation, the military says.

Nattapong was among the hostages whom Israel had grave concerns for their life, though had not until now officially declared him dead.

The IDF says the operation in Rafah yesterday was carried out using “precise intelligence” obtained by the Shin Bet from its interrogation and other information collected by the Hostages Headquarters unit and the Intelligence Directorate.

The Mujahideen Brigades is a relatively small terror group in the Strip, that was also responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, and well as Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein, whose bodies were recovered early Thursday.

The terror group is still holding the body of another foreign national, according to the IDF.