Israel Receives Coffin Believed to Contain Body of One of Two Remaining Deceased Hostages

Israel received a coffin Wednesday believed to contain the remains of one of the last two deceased hostages still held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. The coffin, transferred from the Red Cross to Israeli authorities, crossed the border and was transported to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine for identification.

“The coffin of the deceased hostage, escorted by IDF troops, crossed the border into the State of Israel a short while ago and is on its way to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on social media.

The remains are believed to be either those of Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer who served in a counter-terrorism unit, or Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker. Both men were killed during the October 7 Hamas attack, and their bodies have been held in Gaza for nearly 790 days.

This development comes after Israel received remains on Tuesday that were tested and confirmed not to belong to either Gvili or Rinthalak. According to The Times of Israel, a senior Red Cross official described those earlier findings as “small remains, pieces” of a body.

Ran Gvili had been awaiting surgery for a broken shoulder when the Hamas attack began. Despite his injury, he chose to join the fight alongside fellow officers to protect others. He was killed near Kibbutz Alumim, and Hamas militants took his body into Gaza.

“When this nightmare began, there were 255 hostages. Their families became one big family. We held each other through every unbearable moment,” Gvili’s mother, Talik, wrote in a Fox News opinion piece. “And now we’re down to the last two in the darkness of Gaza. I’m terrified that after bringing so many home, my Ran will be left behind. There’s this crushing feeling I can’t shake: when is our turn?”

Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43, was one of many Thai nationals working in Israel’s agricultural sector to support family back home. He had planned to return to Thailand permanently after saving more money. His mother, On, told Israeli news outlet Ynet that they last spoke about ten days before the attack.

“We asked him to come home to Thailand for a visit. We hadn’t seen him in many years, ever since he went to Israel for work,” she said. “He told us he wanted to save a bit more money and then come home for good. Then October 7 happened and he was murdered. I want my son home as soon as possible. I wait for him every day.”

The return of these remains represents a significant moment in the ongoing aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks, when Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 255 hostages into Gaza. Most of these hostages have since been released through various agreements or their remains recovered through military operations.

The situation has sparked continuous protests in Israel, with families and supporters of hostages regularly gathering at what has become known as “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv. Demonstrators have been calling on both Israeli authorities and international mediators, including the incoming Trump administration, to secure the return of all remaining hostages and the bodies of those who died in captivity.

Family members of both Gvili and Rinthalak have been vocal about their anguish during the prolonged wait for their loved ones’ remains. The issue of hostages has been central to ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas throughout the ongoing conflict, with each agreement resulting in the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian pauses.

The identification process at Israel’s forensic institute is expected to confirm which of the two men’s remains were returned, bringing a measure of closure to one family while highlighting the continued captivity of the final deceased hostage.