The body of Thai national Nattapong Pinta was retrieved in the Gaza Strip and brought back to Israel on Saturday, Israeli authorities announced. After confirming his identity, the Israeli and Thai governments were tasked with repatriating the slain hostage’s body for proper burial.

Pinta came to Israel from Thailand in 2022 seeking work opportunities to support his family in rural northern Thailand, in the Nakhon Phanom region.

He was abducted while doing agricultural work on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz and was abducted alive. Several of his colleagues were also kidnapped, and 11 other Thai workers were killed in the same attack.

It is believed that Pinta was held by the Mujahideen Brigades, an extremist jihadist group that was also linked to the murders of Israeli hostages Gadi Haggai, Judith Weinstein, and the Bibas family.

When five Thai hostages returned in January during the temporary ceasefire deal, his family’s sense of hope was both renewed and diminished, but since Pinta was not one of those released, the family’s distress grew. Why not him?

Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel and Gal Hirsch, Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing in the Prime Minister's Office attend a farewell ceremony near the coffin of Thai national Nattapong Pinta, on June 10, 2025. (credit: Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)
Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel and Gal Hirsch, Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing in the Prime Minister's Office attend a farewell ceremony near the coffin of Thai national Nattapong Pinta, on June 10, 2025. (credit: Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)
Still, they had no answers.

Pinta’s colleagues and the kibbutz workers described him as being dedicated to his work and as someone who was always smiling and willing to help.

“He left a mark on everyone who knew him,” the kibbutz said in a statement.

Four foreign nationals remain as hostages in Gaza

Of the remaining 55 hostages in Gaza, four other foreign nationals remain: Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese national, remains in captivity, with no update on his condition; Tanzanian national Joshua Mollel was murdered on October 7 and subsequently kidnapped, with his body still remaining in Gaza; and two other Thai citizens, Sonthisak Rinthalak and Sontiya Oukkarasri, who were previously declared dead, remain in captivity.

Israel’s Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator, Gal Hirsch, visited the Thai Embassy in Herzliya to personally inform diplomats and help deliver the news to Pinta’s family. Officials are preparing to return his remains to Thailand.

“Together with all citizens of Israel, we send our condolences to Natthapong’s family and to the Thai people,” Hirsch said in a statement. “We will not rest until all our hostages – living and deceased – are brought home.”

President Isaac Herzog also gave a statement on Pinta’s return: “Nattapong Pinta left his wife, Narissara, and their young son, Wirapat, in Thailand to work in agriculture in Israel, hoping to give them a better future and fulfill their dream of opening a family coffee shop in Thailand.

But that dream was tragically and painfully cut short when Nattapong was brutally abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Mujahideen Brigade terrorists during the Hamas-led terror assault on October 7.”

“Nattapong, who was kidnapped alive, was cruelly murdered in captivity by the terrorists in Gaza. This morning, we received the painful news that his body was recovered last night in a courageous operation by the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency),” Herzog added, extending condolences to his family and the people of Thailand. He called for the remaining 55 hostages to be brought home from captivity.

Families of the hostages spoke of the symbolism that came with the return of Pinta’s remains while sending condolences to the family.

“The recovery of Nattapong Pinta represents the fulfillment of a basic moral and human obligation, allowing his family the closure they desperately need,” they said. The Hostage Family Forum echoed this sentiment.

“We stand with Nattapong’s family today and share in their grief. While the pain is immense, his family will finally have certainty after 20 terrible and agonizing months of devastating uncertainty. Every family deserves such certainty to begin their personal healing journey,” they said in a statement.

“We emphasize once again that decision-makers must do everything necessary to reach an agreement that will bring back all 55 remaining hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial. Israel’s longest war in its history cannot end in victory without all 55 hostages who remain in captivity.”