Middle East

Twelfth deceased hostage identified after 2 returned to Israel overnight, kibbutz says

By Ibrahim Dahman , Mitchell McCluskey , Lauren Izso , Jennifer Hansler , Kareem El Damanhoury

The body of a twelfth hostage returned to Israel from Gaza has been identified Sunday as Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, as the ceasefire that brought a pause to two years of destruction in the Palestinian enclave comes under strain.

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Sunday said Oakkharasri’s remains had been identified and that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had informed his family. His was one of two bodies returned by Hamas on Saturday to Israel.

The other body was earlier identified as that of hostage Ronen Engel, according to his kibbutz, and photographs provided to CNN by his family.

Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over the bodies of Engel and Oakkharasri to the Red Cross on Saturday, after which they were transferred to Israel for formal identification.

“Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the return for burial of our beloved Ronen Engel,” a spokesperson for the kibbutz said in a statement. “We will always remember Ronen as a devoted family man, incurably optimistic, with a sense of humor, a joy for life, and a constant smile.”

Ronen Engel

Oakkharasri was a Thai citizen who was taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on Israel of October 7, 2023. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in May 2024 that Oakkharasri was presumed dead.

Engel was 54 when he was killed, and his wife Karina kidnapped along with their daughters Mika and Yuval. His wife and children were released the following month, but Engel’s body was not.

The truce in Gaza appears to be largely holding as it enters its second week, but has come under pressure from the delayed return of the remaining hostage bodies from Gaza, the initially slow entry of aid into the enclave, and Israel’s continued deadly strikes.

The US State Department said Saturday that “credible reports” indicate Hamas is planning an “imminent ceasefire violation” against Palestinians in Gaza.

“This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,” the media note said. “The guarantors demand Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.”

“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” it said.

In response, Hamas said in a statement Sunday that it “reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement” and “stresses that (Israel) continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the State Department’s memo.

With the handover late on Saturday, Hamas has returned 12 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages outlined in the ceasefire agreement with Israel, which went into effect last week. All 12 have now been formally identified.

“We will not rest and we will not be silent until the last of the hostages is returned,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Sunday.

Protests have ignited in Israel as frustration intensifies over the delay in returning the bodies of the remaining hostages. In Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, large crowds of demonstrators gathered on Saturday, urging the government to pressure Hamas to release the bodies.

Hamas has said that it handed over all of the hostage remains that it could access and that “extensive efforts and special equipment” would be needed to retrieve more. Israeli intelligence has assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.

But Israel believes that Hamas does know the locations of some of the deceased hostages it claims are missing, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter. Israel’s foreign minister has accused Hamas of trying to use the hostages’ bodies as leverage.

Speaking to Channel 14 on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war would end once all of the hostage bodies have been returned and Hamas is demilitarized.

“The war in Gaza will finally end when the terms of the agreement that was supposedly accepted are implemented, and this includes, first of all, Phase A – the return of all our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “Phase B also includes the disarmament of Hamas, or rather the disarmament of the Strip, and before that the disarmament of Hamas.”

Rafah crossing and crucial aid

As the dispute continues, the Rafah crossing will remain closed until further notice, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday. The crossing is a crucial link between Egypt and Gaza, serving as the enclave’s lifeline for humanitarian aid.

Netanyahu’s office said that its opening would be dependent on how “Hamas fulfills its part in returning the hostages and implementing the agreed-upon outline.”

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel line up at the crossing into the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border on the Egypt side, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Rafah, Egypt on Friday.

Hamas criticized the delayed reopening of the crossing as “a blatant violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement.” The group also condemned Israel’s strikes on Gaza.

Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military targeted a vehicle carrying 11 civilians, including several women and children, on Friday after it crossed a line that marks Israel’s control under the ceasefire agreement, Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, told CNN.

After coordinating with the United Nations, the Civil Defense recovered on Saturday nine bodies, including those of four children and three women. The bodies of two other children are missing, the Civil Defense said.

The Israeli military told CNN its troops “fired warning shots” after a “suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line” – a reference to the initial Israeli withdrawal line. The military said the “vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them.”

Related Articles

Back to top button