In a complex joint operation carried out by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the body of Thai national Nattapong Pinta was recovered from the Rafah area and returned to Israel.
Nattapong Pinta, 35, married and a father, an agricultural worker, came to Israel to work and support his family in Thailand. He was abducted on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he had been working for several years.
Based on intelligence gathered over time by ISA, the rescue operation was led by the Gaza Division under Southern Command, in coordination with the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters. It was determined that Nattapong Pinta was abducted alive on October 7 by terrorists from the Kataeb al-Mujahideen organization, and is believed to have been murdered during the first months of his captivity.
Following an identification procedure conducted at the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police, the notification was delivered to his family, the Thai government (via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and the Nir Oz community.
The Kataeb al-Mujahideen terrorist organization is also responsible for the abduction, holding, and murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas and the murder Gad Haggai and Judy Weinstein, whose bodies were recovered this week. The IDF and ISA will continue in its efforts to recover all other hostages.
Israel is committed to the return of every hostage. The Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters, in collaboration with the Intelligence Directorate, continues systematic efforts to locate all hostages—deceased and alive—through data analysis, human intelligence, and various surveillance technologies. That commitment will end only when every hostage is brought home.