Background
Nattapong Pinta, also known as "Nick", was born in Phrae province, northern Thailand, around 1988 or 1989. He was married to Narissara Chanthasang, [3] and had a son, Weerapat, aged 9. [4] Seeking better economic opportunities, Pinta moved to Israel in 2022 to work as an agricultural laborer at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a farming community near the Gaza border. [5]
Abduction
On October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, Pinta was working at Kibbutz Nir Oz when militants, including members of the Mujahideen Brigades, a Fatah-affiliated group allied with Hamas, stormed the area. [1] At approximately 6:30 a.m., Pinta called his wife, reporting gunfire. [6] He was one of 251 hostages taken to Gaza. [7] Pinta was held in southern Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, who had also murdered the Bibas family. [4] Israeli intelligence later determined he was murdered in captivity, though his status remained uncertain for over 20 months, causing significant distress for his family. [8]
Recovery and repatriation
On June 7, 2025, the Israel Defence Forces and Israel Security Agency conducted a targeted operation in Rafah, recovering Pinta's body based on intelligence from a detained Gazan militant. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the recovery, his body was then taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute and confirmed Pinta had been "brutally murdered" by his captors. [1] [9] The Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed solidarity with Pinta's family and called for the release of all remaining captives saying "the return of Nattapong Pinta is a fulfillment of a basic human moral obligation, which will allow his family to close the necessary circle." [10] Pinta's body was repatriated to Thailand on June 11, 2025, [11] arriving in Bangkok for a ceremony at Ben-Gurion International Airport. His remains were then transported to Phrae for burial. [12] [13] His wife shared a photograph of his son crying upon learning of his father's death, highlighting the family's grief. [14] At least one corpse of a deceased hostage is still reported as being in Gaza. [15]
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