Deceased hostage and Thai citizen Sutthisak Rinthalak, 43, was returned to Israel on Thursday morning, the IDF and the Prime Minister's Office said.
After the identification process was completed overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, IDF representatives together with the Foreign Ministry informed Rinthalak's family that he had been brought back for burial.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that "alongside the profound sadness, the return of Sutthisak brings a measure of solace to his family, which has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for more than two years."
According to the IDF, "based on the information and intelligence in our possession, Sutthisak Rinthalak, a Thai national, was murdered on October 7, 2023, and he was taken into the Gaza Strip, and held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. Rintalak, 42 at the time of his death, worked in agriculture and was abducted from the orchards of Kibbutz Be'eri. His death was formally declared on May 16, 2024. He is survived by his parents and a brother."
The Prime Minister's Office added: "The coordinator for hostages and missing persons, Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, informed Rinthalak's family that arrangements for returning his remains for burial in his home country will be coordinated with the Thai Embassy in Israel. The Rinthalak family and Thailand's ambassador to Israel, Panyarak Poolthup, expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the State of Israel for its efforts to retrieve Sutthisak and for the continuous support extended to the family since the outbreak of the war."
The Thai agricultural worker abducted from the fields
Rinthalak, 43, had worked in Israeli agriculture since 2017. He is survived by his parents and a brother. On the morning of the October 7 massacre, he was working in fields near Kibbutz Be'eri.
Seven months later, on May 16, his parents were notified that he had been murdered and that his body was being held in Gaza. He was one of eight Thai citizens abducted to the Strip. About two weeks after the massacre, his aunt spoke to Thai media, saying he regularly sent money to support his parents. On the day of the attack, the family received a video filmed by the terrorists showing her nephew being taken hostage.
The final deceased hostage still held in Gaza is Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24.
