The remains of slain Gaza hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak have been identified, the IDF and the Prime Minister's office confirmed on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, a coffin potentially containing the remains of one of the two remaining hostages in Gaza, escorted by the IDF, had arrived at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir for identification.
Israel's Public Health Service is in constant contact with the families of the final two victims, the PMO confirmed.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization claimed that it had found the remains of a hostage in the northern Gaza Strip.
"We found the body of one of the enemy’s captives during search and excavation operations this morning in the northern Gaza Strip. As part of the 'Al Aqsa Flood' prisoner exchange deal, work is underway to complete several procedures that precede the process of handing over the body in accordance with the established protocols," the group said.
Early findings were a false alarm
Early on Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed, following an examination by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, that earlier initial findings transferred by Hamas to Israel on Tuesday were not related to either of the deceased hostages remaining in Gaza captivity.
"After completing the identification process at the National Center for Forensic Medicine, it was found that the findings brought yesterday for examination from the Gaza Strip are not linked to any of the deceased abductees," the PMO stated.
The remaining hostage bodies, which are still in Gaza, are from Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak and Staff-Sergeant Major Ran Gvili.
Who were the last remaining Gaza hostages?
Staff-Sergeant Major Ran Gvili was killed in battle fighting infiltrating Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, after saving the lives of partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival in Re’im and defending Kibbutz Alumim from Hamas terrorists.
After evacuating survivors of the Nova massacre to safety, Gvili and his comrades returned to Alumim to continue the fight against the dozens of terrorists who attempted to conquer the kibbutz. Wounded and surrounded, Gvili was overpowered by Hamas terrorists and was subsequently murdered.
Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, 30, was murdered by Hamas in Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 massacre, and his body was taken into the Gaza Strip, where terrorists held it for over two years.
For eight years, Oakkharasri worked as an agricultural employee on kibbutzim across Israel. He had worked in the North before settling in Be’eri, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
This is a developing story.