Jerusalem, 19 october, 2025 (TPS-IL) — The bodies of two hostages returned overnight were identified as ronen engel and Thai laborer sonthaya oakkharasri on Sunday morning.
Engel, 54, was killed by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, while defending his family. His wife Karina and daughters Mika and Yuval were kidnapped and later released during the November ceasefire deal. In December 2023, the IDF confirmed that Ronen had been killed and that his body remained in Gaza.
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Engel moved to Nir Oz in 2010. A volunteer photographer for Magen David Adom and a passionate motorcyclist, he was also an artist who created sculptures from scrap metal.
He is survived by his wife, four children.
Oakkharasri was abducted from the orchards of Kibbutz Be’eri, where he worked, and was subsequently murdered by Hamas. Israel declared the 30-year-old Oakkharasri dead based on intelligence in May 2024.
He is survived by a 7-year-old daughter.
Thirty-one Thai workers were abducted during the attacks, the largest group of foreigners to be held in Gaza.
Also on Sunday, Israel held a farewell ceremony for Bipin Joshi at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday before his body was flown home to Nepal. Joshi, 23, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Alumim during the October 7 attack and killed in Gaza. He had come to Israel as part of an international agricultural training program under Mashav, the Foreign Ministry’s development agency.
Around 1,200 people killed that day and 252 Israelis and foreigners were abducted. The bodies of 16 more hostages remain in Gaza.
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