Israeli authorities on Thursday morning confirmed that the remains recovered from the Gaza Strip the previous evening belong to murdered Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, whose body had been held captive in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Authorities informed Rinthalak’s family that arrangements for returning his body to Thailand will be made in coordination with the Thai embassy in Israel.
IDF representatives, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed the family of Sudthisak Rinthalak that their loved one has been brought back for burial.
According to the information and intelligence available to the IDF:
• Sudthisak Rinthalak, 42, a Thai
“The Israeli government shares the deep sorrow of the Rinthalak family, the Thai people and all the families of the slain abductees,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Jerusalem and the entire Israeli security establishment are “determined, committed and working tirelessly” to bring home the remains of Israel Police counter-terror officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage in Gaza, the statement continued.
“The Hamas terrorist organization is required to fulfill its obligations to the mediators and return him as part of the [ceasefire] agreement’s implementation. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we bring him home to Israel,” the PMO said.
According to the IDF, Rinthalak was killed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks and his body was taken to the Gaza Strip, where it was held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. He worked in agriculture and was abducted from the orchards of Kibbutz Be’eri.
Rinthalak was 42 at the time of his death, which was officially confirmed on May 16, 2024. He is survived by his brother Thaphon, his father, Thongma, and mother, On.
He was born and raised in the town of Rattanawapi in Nong Khai province, northeastern Thailand, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Rinthalak “worked in agriculture for many years before arriving in Israel in 2017 as part of a foreign worker employment program. He was employed on farms in the Gaza border region and was regarded as hardworking and well-liked by his coworkers,” the forum said.
“The IDF expresses its deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return the remaining deceased hostage, and is prepared to continue implementing the agreement,” the military said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his Thai counterpart on Thursday afternoon and updated him on the return of Rinthalak’s body, Jerusalem’s top diplomat tweeted.
“I expressed our deep condolences to the Thai people and his family,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on X. “I reiterated our commitment to granting assistance and benefits to his family, as we did for all Israeli terror victims as well as the other Thai victims.”
Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was murdered and abducted on October 7, is the last foreign hostage held in Gaza.
His family in Thailand continues to wait for his return: “I hope they bring him back, even just his remains”
His family and the Thai ambassador to Israel, Bonyarit Vichienpahn, “expressed their profound gratitude and appreciation to the State of Israel for its efforts to bring Sutadisak home and for the continued support extended to the family since the outbreak of the war,” according to the PMO statement.
Thirty-nine Thai nationals were murdered and 31 Thai nationals were taken captive on Oct. 7.
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I send my deepest condolences to King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Sudthisak Rinthalak’s family, and the entire Thai people,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “I also express my appreciation for the Thai community in Israel, who continue to contribute so much to our country.”
Herzog said that the Hamas terrorist group’s “cruelty continues” with Gvili’s body still in Gaza.
“When we say we won’t stop until every last hostage is home, we mean it,” said Herzog.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting to approve the 2026 state budget on Thursday, Netanyahu told fellow ministers that he and his wife, Sara, were in “constant” contact with Gvili’s “remarkable” family over the past weeks.
“Rani Gvili is an Israeli hero,” the premier said. “He fought to defend Kibbutz Alumim, eliminated 14 terrorists, and did so with supreme bravery. He was tragically killed in the battle and his body was taken.
“We are determined to bring Rani back for burial in Israel and will spare no effort to do so,” Netanyahu said. “We will bring him home just as we brought back 254 hostages. People say it’s unbelievable. I believed, you believed and together we achieved the unbelievable. We are determined to bring him back as well, and we will bring back every last hostage.”
Netanyahu’s office said late Thursday that he had approved the departure that morning of a delegation to Cairo “to secure the immediate return of the last hostage” held in the Strip.
The delegation, led by IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the government’s point man on the hostage issue, also included representatives from the military, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Mossad, it said.
“At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed to concentrate an intensive and immediate effort that will lead to the full completion of the hostage-and-missing-persons mission,” the statement concluded.