Friends of Thai hostage raise flag, place stickers commemorating those still in Hamas captivity
Of the 55 remaining hostages, 19 are residents of Eshkol Regional Council, the council said in a statement.
Eshkol Regional Council residents are spearheading a hostage remembrance initiative at Maon Junction, the council said in a statement on Sunday.
Residents placed 55 yellow stickers on the junction's flagpole, each representing a hostage who has not yet returned from Hamas captivity.
Those involved included friends of the former hostage Pinta Nettapong, whose body was recovered from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, after the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) completed a rescue operation.
The Maon junction flag was raised to sticker number 55 in honor of the murdered hostage.
Nettapong was an agricultural worker at Kibbutz Nir Oz when he was captured by Hamas on October 7, 2023. He was the last hostage of Thai nationality held in Gaza.
Status of the remaining hostages
An Israeli security source claimed on the weekend that "Hamas has 20 living hostages, two we cannot determine, and another 33 dead."
