Body of Thai captive retrieved from Gaza by Israeli forces, Shin Bet

Israeli forces have retrieved from the Gaza Strip the body of Natthapong Pinta, a Thai captive taken during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, officials said on Saturday.

A military statement said the army and the Shin Bet security agency carried out an operation on Friday and "recovered the body of Natthapong Pinta from the Rafah area" of southern Gaza.

"Nattaphong Pinta was abducted alive by terrorists... from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and was murdered while in captivity," the statement alleged, blaming the Mujahideen Brigades, an armed group close to Hamas ally Islamic Jihad.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the hostage's body was "returned to Israel" in "a special operation" in the Rafah area.

"Natthapong came to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture, out of a desire to build a better future for himself and his family," Katz said.

He was "brutally murdered in captivity by the terrorist organisation Mujahideen Brigades", the minister claimed.

The military statement alleged that the group which stormed Nir Oz during Hamas's 2023 attack was to blame for the deaths of several other captives.

The statement also claimed that the Mujahideen group is also holding the body of another foreign national.

The statement said Natthapong's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation to recover his body.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group urged Israeli authorities in a statement to "do what is needed to reach an agreement" to free the remaining captives.

Around 55 captives remain held in Gaza, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead.

At least 54,677 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on 7 October, 2023, with thousands more feared buried under rubble.