‘One of ours’: Officials bid farewell to Sudthisak Rinthalak as his body flown home

As his body was finally flown home to his family in Thailand on Tuesday, more than two years after he was killed, officials paid tribute to slain hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak during a ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport.

The remains of Rinthalak, 43, who was murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, were returned to Israel from Gaza on Wednesday and identified by Israeli authorities on Thursday morning.

During the brief ceremony before his remains were flown to Thailand, Israel’s hostage envoy, Gal Hirsch, expressed his sorrow to Rinthalak and his family.

“It shouldn’t have ended this way,” he said. “We failed to protect you; it took too long to bring you back home.”

Calling Rinthalak “one of us,” Hirsch added, “you are now heading back home, we will never, never forget you.”

Rinthalak was one of 39 Thai nationals killed during the Hamas-led terrorist attack of October 7. With his return of his remains last week, the body of just one slain hostage remains in Gaza: police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who was killed and abducted while battling terrorists in the border community of Alumim on the morning of October 7.

Hirsch said Israel did everything it could to bring all the hostages back home, and will do everything possible to bring back Gvili’s body as well.

“We are responsible for everyone kidnapped from Israel on October 7,” he said.

Thai Ambassador to Israel Boonyarit Vichienpuntu said at the ceremony that, like many Thai workers, Rinthalak crossed the ocean with a determination to make a better life for his loved ones.

He said the Thai government is praying for the return of the last Israeli hostage, to put an end to this mournful period and to be able to implement the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Rinthalak’s family, his parents, Thong Ma and Orn, and his older brother, Thepporn, were watching the ceremony live from their home in Thailand. Rinthalak was divorced and had no children.

The ceremony was held at the 8th Armored Brigade Memorial — gray slabs of cement and iron, commemorating those who fell in Israel’s battles — which has been the backdrop for similar ceremonies for foreign workers who were killed on October 7 ahead of their bodies being flown back to their home countries.

Alona Fisher-Kamm, Israel’s ambassador to Thailand, spoke at the ceremony about the strong bonds between the two countries and their security alignment and friendship during the past two years of war.

She was followed by Leora Sela David, a representative of the Hostages Forum from the Eshkol region of the Gaza envelope, who noted in her comments that many Thai farm workers chose to return to the region after October 7. Sela David said those workers helped rescue produce in the abandoned areas, proving their true partnership and courage.

“Our hearts break with yours. We will always be in this story together,” she said, pointing to a letter written to the Rinthalak family and placed on a nearby table, signed by the hostage families.

Boaz Cohen, a resident of Kibbutz Sa’ad who employed Rinthalak at an agricultural company that handles farm work for various kibbutz communities, told The Times of Israel that Rinthalak had resided at the living quarters for the Thai workers close to Kibbutz Be’eri and the Gaza border.

“He was one of ours,” said Cohen. “He was a great guy, always smiling, already ready to do whatever was necessary.”

Cohen had six Thai workers taken captive from his staff, five from the quarters near Be’eri and one who lived at Kibbutz Re’im.

“Every Israeli can now say your name, Sudthisak,” said Josh Lawson, who headed the medical desk at the Prime Minister’s Office for the hostages and was also the liaison to the Gaza envelope communities. “You were one of the last murdered hostages. Your story became clear, a painful beacon to us all.”

Lawson said that the release of Rinthalak marked the end of a chapter in the war, with the return of the final foreign hostage. Foreigners constituted 35 of the 251 hostages taken.

He described a tremendous sense of accomplishment, having first become involved in the weeks after October 7 as part of his reserve duty before transitioning into the work as a civilian.

“I felt responsible, we are responsible,” said Lawson, noting that Rinthalak’s family will receive all the benefits given to families of terrorist victims.

“If you come into Israel legally and are hurt in a terrorist attack, you will get, down to a shekel, what an Israeli from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will get, for life,” he said.