Israel Confirms Return of Thai Hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak’s Remains After 789 Days

Israel confirmed this morning that the remains returned from Gaza yesterday belong to Thai citizen Sudthisak Rinthalak, one of the foreign workers abducted on October 7. According to military intelligence, Rinthalak was murdered that morning while working in the fields near Kibbutz Be’eri, and his body was taken into Gaza by Islamic Jihad terrorists.

The confirmation marks the final return of a non-Israeli hostage after 789 days of captivity. With Rinthalak now home, only the remains of Ran Gvili are still held in Gaza.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said that “following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the IDF Rabbinate, the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, and IDF and Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives informed the family of fallen hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak, of blessed memory, that their loved one has been returned to Israel and that his identification has been completed.” Officials notified both the family and Thailand’s ambassador to Israel.

Gal Hirsch, the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, told the family that all arrangements for returning the body for burial in Thailand will be carried out in coordination with the Thai Embassy in Israel. “The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Rinthalak family, the Thai people, and all the families of the fallen hostages,” he said. The PMO added that Thailand’s ambassador and the family expressed their appreciation for Israel’s efforts throughout the war.

Sudthisak Rinthalak, 42, was from the rural northeastern district of Ratnawi in Thailand. He came to Israel in 2017 under the foreign agricultural worker program and spent years working in orchards near Kibbutz Be’eri. Friends described him as a dedicated, hardworking employee who quickly became part of the local farming community. On October 7, as Hamas terrorists stormed the region, Rinthalak was working in the fields and was abducted along with several other agricultural workers. His family was formally notified on May 16, 2024, that he had been murdered and his body was being held in Gaza. He is survived by his parents and brother.

His family and the Thai ambassador conveyed “their deep gratitude and appreciation to the State of Israel for the efforts to return Sudthisak and for the continuous support provided to the family since the outbreak of the war.”

Rinthalak’s return closes a painful chapter in the foreign-worker hostage file. Thirty-five non-Israelis were abducted on October 7, including 31 Thai citizens working in agriculture in the Gaza envelope. Twenty-eight Thai hostages returned alive, while three were murdered. Additional abductees included a Filipino worker from Nir Oz who returned alive, a Tanzanian student who was murdered, a Mexican tourist taken from the Nova festival, and a Nepali student murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Alumim. Rinthalak was the last of them to come home.

Israel says it remains committed to returning the final hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. “The Government and the entire Directorate for the Hostages and the Missing of the State of Israel are determined, committed, and working tirelessly to return National Counter-Terrorism Unit fighter and hero Master Sgt. Ran Gvili for a proper Jewish burial,” the PMO said. “We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we bring him back home to Israel.”