Israel on Thursday announced that the body of Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, abducted and killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas assault, has been returned to Israel and formally identified, following a joint forensic process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police and the IDF Rabbinate.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Coordinator, retired Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, informed Rintalak’s family that arrangements for repatriating his remains to Thailand will be coordinated with the Thai Embassy. Israeli officials conveyed “the deep sorrow of the Government of Israel, the people of Thailand and all families of the fallen hostages.”
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Sudthisak Rinthalak and the family in Thailand that waited 789 days for his return
(Photo: Courtesy of Ratda Gongpat)
Rinthalak’s family and Thailand’s ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, expressed gratitude to Israel for what they called its continuous efforts since the start of the war to recover his body and support the family.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Directorate said it remains “determined and fully committed” to recovering the body of Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, a police special forces officer killed on Oct. 7 and still held by Hamas.
The government reiterated that Hamas is obligated under the ceasefire-mediated arrangement to return the bodies of all deceased hostages. “Hamas must fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return him under the terms of the agreement,” the statement said. “We will not compromise and will spare no effort until he is brought home.”
Rinthalak, a native of the town of Ratnawee in northern Thailand, had been working in Israel since 2017 under a program for employing foreign laborers in agriculture. Over the years he worked in orchards near Kibbutz Be’eri and was considered a dedicated, well-liked worker among his colleagues. During the October 7 massacre, Hamas gunmen stormed the kibbutz while Rinthalak was working in nearby fields, and he was abducted along with other foreign laborers, where he was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad
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Demonstration in Tel Aviv over the weekend calling for the release of the last two hostages held in Gaza, Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak
(Photo: Paulina Patimer)
More than six months later, on May 16, 2024, his family in Thailand was informed that 43-year-old Sudthisak had been murdered on the day of the attack and that his body was being held in the Gaza Strip. “About ten days before October 7 was the last time we spoke,” his mother, On, told ynet this week.
“We asked him to come home to Thailand for a visit. We hadn’t seen him for many years, since he flew to Israel to work. He said he wanted to save a little more money and then come home for good. Then October 7 happened and he was killed. I want my son home as soon as possible. I wait for him every day.”
Sudthisak’s father, Thaung-Na, sits beside her and nods. “I miss him,” he says. “I miss him so much.”
“Almost every household here has someone who went to work in Israel,” said his older sister, Ratda Gongpat, who lives in a nearby village. “We, too — Sudthisak has several relatives currently working in Israel.”
After separating from his partner, Sudthisak returned to live with his parents and became the main breadwinner for the entire family, especially his elderly parents. While in Israel, he stayed in frequent contact by phone and text messages. “He was the head of the family and the primary provider,” his sister said. “A polite, well-liked guy with many friends. Everyone here in the village misses him — they ask how he is, what’s happening. They grieve with us. They sit with us. They don’t talk much. That’s how it is for us Isaan people.”
Meanwhile, under heavy American pressure, Israel’s defense establishment continues to give Hamas time to locate and return the last fallen hostage still held in Gaza. Delivering that body is critical to completing Phase One of the ceasefire agreement. At this stage, the IDF believes Hamas likely knows where the body is but will try to exploit the situation for leverage and delay, primarily for internal gain.