The body of Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, 30, was returned to Israel after more than 740 days in captivity, Israeli officials confirmed on Sunday afternoon following forensic identification.
Following identification from the National Center for Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, military representatives informed the Oakkharasri family that their loved one had been returned to Israel and officially identified.
Oakkharasri was working on Kibbutz Be’eri at the time of his abduction. He was the father of a seven-year-old daughter, Kaimook. He longed to return to Thailand to be with his family and build his own farm. He lived in Israel for eight years before his abduction, working as an agricultural worker in various kibbutzim in Israel’s North, before heading to Be’eri.
Planning a return to his family
Though he was described as a quiet man who was focused on his work, he maintained daily contact with his mother, Amorn, and his young daughter. According to a statement by the Hostage Family Forum, his work contract in Israel was set to end in October 2023, and he had already been planning his return to Thailand.
Oakkharasri was among the dozens of foreign workers who were murdered in the terrorist attack in Be’eri.
In May 2024, the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv received confirmation from the Foreign Ministry of the death of two Thai captives, both Oakkharasri and Sudthisak Rinthalak, who were both believed to have been killed on October 7.
In a statement, the families of hostages and released captives expressed condolences to the slain hostage’s family back in Thailand. “Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole again, Sonthaya’s return brings some measure of solace to a family that has lived in unbearable uncertainty and doubt for over two years,” the statement added