The Israeli Prime Minister’s office has confirmed that the Red Cross handed over the body of Thai national Sudthisak Rintalak on Wednesday, December 3.
Only one deceased hostage remains in Gaza, 24 year old Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer. Sudthisak and Gvili were the final two hostages who had not been recovered from the territory.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) military wing claimed it found the body in northern Gaza before the handover. Earlier that same day, Israel had determined that the remains delivered by Hamas on Tuesday, December 2, did not match either of the two hostages.
The Israel Defence Forces offered condolences to Sudthisak’s family. They also reaffirmed their intention to bring Gvili’s body home and called on Hamas to cooperate with the recovery.
BBC reported that Sudthisak was 43 years old while Reuters said he was 42 yeas old.
Regardless, Israeli officials are working with the Thai embassy to send Sudthisak’s remains back to Thailand.
Thai and Israeli authorities reported that Hamas killed Sudthisak at Kibbutz Be’eri during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Under a ceasefire agreed in October, Hamas agreed to release all living and deceased hostages held in Gaza. BBC reported that Hamas agreed to release 20 living hostages and 28 bodies. In exchange, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
As of now, Israel has received the bodies of 23 Israeli hostages, along with four foreign nationals, two Thai, one Nepalese, and one Tanzanian. In return, Israel handed over the bodies of 345 Palestinians killed during the war.
Israel blamed Hamas for intentionally slowing down the process of locating and returning the bodies. Hamas responded by saying they are struggling to find the remains because Israeli airstrikes damaged many areas, making it hard to find the remains.
Multiple sources reported that the delay halted the second phase of former US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. The plan was to form a new governing authority in Gaza, withdraw Israeli troops, disarm Hamas, and begin reconstruction.
The dead hostage in Gaza was one of 251 people taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack, in which around 1,200 others were killed.
The story Israel confirms identity of Thai hostage’s body from Gaza as seen on Thaiger News.
