Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. The Prime Minister’s office said that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation.

The body of Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta has been recovered from the Rafah area after a military operation, Israeli authorities said Saturday.

The body of a Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who was abducted alive during the October 7 attacks was recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation on Friday, according to a statement from the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service.

Israel is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. But officials from the U.N. and aid organizations say the military is allowing them to loot food and other supplies from their trucks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged only that Israel had been working with “clans.” But the opposition leader warned that the “weapons going into Gaza will eventually be pointed at Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has closed its aid distribution sites for the day, without giving a date on when they would open again.