Israel recovers remains of Thai farmworker abducted on Oct. 7 from Gaza

Nattapong Pinta, seen in an undated photograph with his wife and son, was murdered in Gaza. (Handout photograph)

(JTA) — The Israeli army retrieved from Gaza the remains of a hostage who was murdered following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in the second such return in a week.

Nattapong Pinta had not previously been confirmed dead, but he was one of three hostages whom Israel recently indicated that it believed were no longer alive. His body was found in Rafah after soldiers acted on information they got during an interrogation; Israeli officials said he had been abducted alive and murdered in Gaza early in the war.

He is survived by a wife, Narissara, and a young son, Wirapat, who live in Thailand.

Pinta was one of 31 Thai farmworkers abducted on Oct. 7 from kibbutzes where they were part of a robust immigrant workforce assisting on Israeli farms; he had been working on Kibbutz Nir Oz, where 47 people were killed and 76 taken hostages.

Twenty-eight of the Thai workers were released during two ceasefires, in November 2023 and earlier this year. Two others who have been confirmed dead remain in Gaza.

Pinta’s body will be returned to Thailand. The retrieval follows the return of the remains of an American-Israeli couple who were murdered on Oct. 7 for burial in Israel last week.