Body of Thai hostage killed in Israel-Hamas conflict identified and returned
Eight years of hard work abroad end in heartbreak for Thai family
Israeli officials confirmed that one of the bodies returned by Hamas on Saturday, October 18, is that of a Thai hostage who was abducted and killed last year.
Israel’s local media outlet, i24News, reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced yesterday, October 19, that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous night was identified as a 30 year old Thai national, Sonthaya Akkarasri.
Thai news agency, JS100, reported that Sonthaya had been working in the agricultural industry in Israel for more than eight years. He was described as a quiet person who regularly kept in touch with his mother and daughter while working there.
Sonthaya was abducted from a fruit farm in Kibbutz Be’eri during Hamas’s large-scale attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and was later killed by the militants. His body was taken into Gaza and officially declared deceased on May 16, 2024.
An identification process was carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, together with the Israeli Police and the IDF Military Rabbinate, before IDF representatives informed Sonthaya’s family of the official confirmation of his identity.
The Israeli government and IDF expressed their condolences to the Akkarasri family, the Thai people, and the families of all deceased hostages. They vowed to continue working tirelessly to ensure the return of all those who lost their lives in captivity.
The Director of the Department of Information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Nokorndate Palangkul, expressed appreciation to Israeli officials and all relevant parties for their tireless assistance in tracking down the hostages, including the remains of Thai victims, over the past months.
He also expressed his deepest condolences to Sonthaya’s family and vowed that the ministry and the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv would continue to coordinate closely with all parties to ensure the return of the remaining Thai body to its family as soon as possible.
Another body returned to its family was that of Ronen Engel, a 54 year old Israeli man. He was reported to be a photographer and volunteer ambulance driver. His wife and daughters were also taken hostage and were later released under the truce between Israel and Hamas in November 2023.
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