Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped by Palestinian militants and taken to Gaza during the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Pinta Nattapong, 35, was living in Israel as a farm worker in 2023 when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community about three kilometres east of the Gaza border.
Until his body was recovered on Saturday, it was uncertain whether or not he was alive. Israeli officials now believe he was killed near the start of the war by members of the Mujahideen Brigades, a breakaway faction of Fatah that operates independently of Hamas in Gaza.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Mr Pinta's body had been retrieved in a special military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, near the city of Rafah.
The operation was launched based on information the IDF received from Israel's hostage task force and military intelligence.
The news came two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken from the same kibbutz were retrieved in a similar operation.
Separately on Saturday, Hamas issued an unusual warning about another hostage, Matan Zangauker, saying Israel's military had surrounded the area where he was being held and any harm to him during a rescue attempt would be Israel's responsibility.
Fifty-five hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom Israel says 20 are likely alive.
Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas and other militants after the October 7 attack, with many Thai agricultural workers living in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim, which militants overran first.
A total of 46 Thais have been killed so far during the conflict, according to Thailand's foreign affairs ministry.
Gaza medics say 45 killed in Israeli strikes
The retrieval of Mr Pinta's body came as Israel continued its military campaign across the Gaza Strip, killing 45 people overnight and into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials.
At least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded by Israeli strikes on the Gaza City district of Sabra, while four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis.
In northern Gaza, one strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel said on Saturday that it was continuing to respond to Hamas's "barbaric attacks" and was dismantling the terror group's capabilities.
It said the IDF follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.
More than 54,000 Palestinians have died in the war so far, with international experts estimating about 80 per cent of those casualties to be civilians.
ABC/Wires
