Jerusalem: The Israeli military has recovered the body of Thai national Nattapong Pinta, one of the foreign hostages abducted during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Saturday. The body was retrieved from the Rafah area in southern Gaza, where it had been held by the Palestinian militant group Mujahedeen Brigades. Pinta’s family in Thailand has been informed of the recovery.
Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, an Israeli border community heavily targeted during the Hamas-led incursion that marked the beginning of the ongoing war. A quarter of the kibbutz’s residents were either killed or taken hostage. According to the Israeli military, Pinta was captured alive and later killed by his captors. His remains were recovered along with the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages earlier in the week.
There has been no response from the Mujahedeen Brigades or Hamas regarding the allegations. The Israeli military said the Brigades are still holding the body of another foreign national. Of the 55 hostages still in Gaza, only about 20 are believed to be alive.
Israeli authorities also accuse the Mujahedeen Brigades of killing Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons. Their bodies were handed over during a temporary ceasefire that collapsed in March when negotiations to extend the truce stalled.
As diplomatic efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to broker another ceasefire remain unsuccessful, Israel has intensified its military campaign across Gaza.
On Saturday, at least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Sabra district of northern Gaza, according to local health officials. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the strike but issued evacuation warnings to nearby Jabalia, where it said rockets had been launched by militants.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has raised alarms that hospitals in the enclave have only three days’ worth of fuel remaining. The ministry accused Israel of blocking international relief organizations from accessing fuel depots meant for medical facilities. No comment was issued by the Israeli military or COGAT, the coordinating body for humanitarian operations.
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U.S.-Backed Aid Group Halts Operations
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with the United Nations warning that most of the 2.3 million residents face the risk of famine amid an 11-week Israeli blockade. The number of children suffering from acute malnutrition has nearly tripled.
Operations by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were suspended on Friday due to security concerns stemming from overcrowded aid distribution points. It remained unclear whether aid efforts resumed the following day.
Earlier in the week, GHF halted distributions and requested a security review by the Israeli military after more than 80 people were reportedly shot dead and hundreds injured near aid centers between June 1 and 3. Since beginning operations in late May, the GHF has provided around 9 million meals but has come under criticism from the United Nations, which argued that its model is neither neutral nor impartial.
Israel is facing mounting international condemnation over the scale of its military campaign, which has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, displaced most of the population, and plunged the territory into an escalating humanitarian crisis.
The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking 251 hostages. It was the deadliest single day in Israeli history.
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Since then, more than 54,000 Palestinians — the majority civilians — have been killed in Israel’s military response, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and access to basic necessities has dwindled.
The families of remaining hostages fear that those still alive may perish amid ongoing Israeli offensives, while those who have died may never be recovered. Israeli officials insist their campaign is focused on dismantling Hamas and recovering all hostages.
More than 40 hostages have died while in captivity, some due to Israeli strikes and others reportedly executed by their captors.
