THE FOREIGN Ministry is preparing to repatriate the body of a Thai man who was killed during the multipronged attack on Israel by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7, 2023 and held at Gaza Strip since then while expediting the search for one remaining Thai person’s body, Amarin TV said this morning (Oct. 20).
The Thai embassy in Tel Aviv was informed by the Israeli authorities yesterday that the body of a Thai who died during this attack had been returned by Hamas following the peace agreement between the two sides, Mr. Nikorndej Plangkura, the ministry’s spokesperson said.
The remains were identified as being that of Mr. Sonthaya Akkarasri with the embassy having immediately informed his family.
However as the Israeli forensic agency has still to officially confirm Sonthaya’s identity the Thai authorities will repatriate his body to Thailand as the earliest opportunity.
Meanwhile the Israeli military said on Sunday (Oct. 19) that a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed after an attack killed two of its soldiers and prompted a wave of airstrikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test yet of this month’s United States-brokered truce, according to a Reuters report published by CNA.
Aid into the enclave was set to resume on Monday following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced a halt in supplies in response to what it said was a “blatant” violation by Hamas of the truce.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas targets across the enclave, including field commanders, gunmen, a tunnel and weapons depots, after militants launched an anti-tank missile and fired on its troops, killing the soldiers.
The strikes killed at least 26 people, including at least one woman and one child, according to local residents and health authorities. At least one strike hit a former school sheltering displaced people in the area of Nuseirat, residents said.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Israel on Monday, an Israeli official and a US official said.
The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah and had not been in contact with groups there since March.
US Vice President JD Vance did not mention the Israeli strikes when asked about Gaza by reporters on Sunday evening, but said there were about 40 different cells of Hamas and no security infrastructure yet in place to confirm their disarmament.
“Some of those cells will probably honour the ceasefire. Many of those cells, as we saw some evidence of today, will not,” he said.
“Before we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that’s going to require … some of these Gulf Arab states, to get forces in there, to actually apply some law and order and security keeping on the ground.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as Hamas’ violations of the ceasefire.
CAPTIONS:
Top – Palestinians watch members of the Hamas militant group search for bodies of the hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 18, 2025. Photo: AP/Jehad Alshrafi and published by CNA
Front Page – Israeli soldiers stand next to tanks near the Israel-Gaza border on Oct 19, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen and published by CNA
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