{"id":176082,"date":"2025-12-09T15:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/176082\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T15:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:34:11","slug":"one-of-ours-officials-bid-farewell-to-sudthisak-rinthalak-as-his-body-flown-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/176082\/","title":{"rendered":"‘One of ours’: Officials bid farewell to Sudthisak Rinthalak as his body flown home"},"content":{"rendered":"

As his body was finally flown home to his family in Thailand on Tuesday, more than two years after he was killed, officials paid tribute to slain hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak<\/a> during a ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport.<\/p>\n

The remains of Rinthalak, 43, who was murdered in Kibbutz Be\u2019eri during the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, were returned to Israel from Gaza on Wednesday and identified by Israeli authorities<\/a> on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

During the brief ceremony before his remains were flown to Thailand, Israel\u2019s hostage envoy, Gal Hirsch, expressed his sorrow to Rinthalak and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t have ended this way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe failed to protect you; it took too long to bring you back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling Rinthalak \u201cone of us,\u201d Hirsch added, \u201cyou are now heading back home, we will never, never forget you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rinthalak was one of 39 Thai nationals killed during the Hamas-led terrorist attack of October 7. With his return of his remains last week, the body of just one slain hostage remains in Gaza: police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili<\/a>, who was killed and abducted while battling terrorists in the border community of Alumim on the morning of October 7.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tHostage point man Gal Hirsch pays his final respects to Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak next to his coffin at a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport, December 9, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Hirsch said Israel did everything it could to bring all the hostages back home, and will do everything possible to bring back Gvili\u2019s body as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are responsible for everyone kidnapped from Israel on October 7,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Thai Ambassador to Israel Boonyarit Vichienpuntu said at the ceremony that, like many Thai workers, Rinthalak crossed the ocean with a determination to make a better life for his loved ones.<\/p>\n

He said the Thai government is praying for the return of the last Israeli hostage, to put an end to this mournful period and to be able to implement the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThai Ambassador to Israel Boonyarit Vichienpuntu bowing to the coffin holding murdered hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak on December 9, 2025 (Jessica Steinberg\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

Rinthalak\u2019s family, his parents, Thong Ma and Orn, and his older brother, Thepporn, were watching the ceremony live from their home in Thailand. Rinthalak was divorced and had no children.<\/p>\n

The ceremony was held at the 8th Armored Brigade Memorial \u2014 gray slabs of cement and iron, commemorating those who fell in Israel\u2019s battles \u2014 which has been the backdrop for similar ceremonies for foreign workers who were killed on October 7 ahead of their bodies being flown back to their home countries.<\/p>\n

Alona Fisher-Kamm, Israel\u2019s ambassador to Thailand, spoke at the ceremony about the strong bonds between the two countries and their security alignment and friendship during the past two years of war.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tRelatives and friends of Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak mourn next to his coffin during a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport, December 9, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

She was followed by Leora Sela David, a representative of the Hostages Forum from the Eshkol region of the Gaza envelope, who noted in her comments that many Thai farm workers chose to return to the region after October 7. Sela David said those workers helped rescue produce in the abandoned areas, proving their true partnership and courage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts break with yours. We will always be in this story together,\u201d she said, pointing to a letter written to the Rinthalak family and placed on a nearby table, signed by the hostage families.<\/p>\n

Boaz Cohen, a resident of Kibbutz Sa\u2019ad who employed Rinthalak at an agricultural company that handles farm work for various kibbutz communities, told The Times of Israel that Rinthalak had resided at the living quarters for the Thai workers close to Kibbutz Be\u2019eri and the Gaza border.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of ours,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cHe was a great guy, always smiling, already ready to do whatever was necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tSudthisak Rinthalak (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Cohen had six Thai workers taken captive from his staff, five from the quarters near Be\u2019eri and one who lived at Kibbutz Re\u2019im.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Israeli can now say your name, Sudthisak,\u201d said Josh Lawson, who headed the medical desk at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office for the hostages and was also the liaison to the Gaza envelope communities. \u201cYou were one of the last murdered hostages. Your story became clear, a painful beacon to us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawson said that the release of Rinthalak marked the end of a chapter in the war, with the return of the final foreign hostage. Foreigners constituted 35 of the 251 hostages taken.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tJosh Lawson, who has handled hostage family issues for the Prime Minister\u2019s Office for the last two years, at a ceremony for slain former hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak before his body is flown home to Thailand on December 9, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

He described a tremendous sense of accomplishment, having first become involved in the weeks after October 7 as part of his reserve duty before transitioning into the work as a civilian.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt responsible, we are responsible,\u201d said Lawson, noting that Rinthalak\u2019s family will receive all the benefits given to families of terrorist victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come into Israel legally and are hurt in a terrorist attack, you will get, down to a shekel, what an Israeli from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will get, for life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


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