The Body of Foreign Hostage Identified in Israel; Six Captives still Remain in the Gaza strip

The body of a foreign national kidnapped on October 7 has been identified at Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine, authorities confirmed on Wednesday night. The man, whose name has not yet been released, is one of two foreign citizens who were abducted during the Hamas assault and have not been unreturned.

Following the identification, six kidnapped men are now believed to still be held in the Gaza Strip — five Israelis and one foreign national.

Hamas announced earlier Wednesday that it had located the body during searches in the Shuja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City. The remains were transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and from there to IDF and Shin Bet forces before being brought to Israel for verification.

The Remaining Foreign Hostages

Among the seven men who had not yet been returned were:

• Joshua Luito Mollel, a Tanzanian agronomy student

• Sontisek Rintalk, a Thai agricultural worker

Both were abducted on October 7.

Sontisek Rintalk

Rintalk, 43, had worked in Israeli agriculture to support his parents in Thailand. He was killed near Kibbutz Be’eri and taken into Gaza.
In May 2024, his family was formally notified that he had been murdered.
His father later appealed publicly for the release of other Thai hostages, saying:

“They went abroad to escape poverty and in the hope of a better life.”

Joshua Luito Mollel

Mollel had arrived in Israel only weeks before the attack, as part of a Tanzanian agricultural training program at Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
His fellow Tanzanian student, Evasious Helmengrid Kalhops, recalled calling repeatedly on the morning of the assault:

“They told me people went to check on him. Then they said no one was at the barn.”

Two months later, Mollel’s father, Levito, was informed that his son had been murdered and that his body was being held in Gaza. He initially refused to believe the news — until videos showing the abduction and killing began circulating on Telegram.

Diplomatic Efforts

Meanwhile, Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister and the figure expected to lead the proposed “Peace Council” overseeing Gaza under U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan, is scheduled to meet in London today with families of hostages whose bodies or remains are still held in the Gaza Strip.