A single hostage remains in Gaza after identification of Thai worker's remains

JERUSALEM (AP) — Remains that militants in Gaza handed to Israel were those of Thai agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak, Israeli and Thai officials said Thursday. The confirmation brought the first phase of Gaza’s tenuous 8-week-old ceasefire a step closer to completion, with one more hostage’s remains still to be returned.

The subsequent phases under a U.S.-drafted, U.N.-backed plan for Gaza remain deeply uncertain. There has been no word on how provisions for Hamas’ disarmament will be carried out, or how a planned international administration and security force will be established.

Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the truce since it began Oct. 10. Israeli airstrikes and shootings during the ceasefire have killed some 366 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel says Hamas has carried out attacks on its soldiers. Around half the devastated Gaza Strip remains under Israeli military control, with most of the population of some 2 million displaced from their homes and dependent on international aid.

In a sign for the potential for turmoil, the leader of an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia, Yasser Abu Shabab, was shot to death during a dispute with another family in southern Gaza, his militia said Thursday. The killing could be a setback for Israeli efforts to prop up its own alternative to Hamas in Gaza.

The Popular Forces is one of several armed Palestinian groups supported by Israel and operating in Israeli-controlled zones. The groups tout themselves as anti-Hamas nationalist forces but have been denounced by many Palestinians, including Abu Shabab’s family, as tools of the Israeli military.

Sudthisak, whose remains were handed over by militants on Wednesday, had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel.

Thais make up a large part of Israel’s agricultural workforce. They were the largest group of foreigners to be taken captive by militants in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

The 42-year-old Sudthisak was killed when the militants stormed into Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities in the attack, and his body taken by the militant group Islamic Jihad, according to the Israeli military.

In the attack, Militants killed.around 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage, triggering Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,100 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Sudthisak’s family has been notified and thanked the Israeli government for assistance that led to the release of all 31 Thai hostages. Of those, 28 were returned alive and three dead. In addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed in the war, according to the ministry,

Israeli Ran Gvili is now the last hostage whose remains have yet to be returned. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who was killed at Kibbutz Alumim as he fought to protect residents and save Israelis fleeing gunmen at the nearby Nova music festival.

Since ceasefire began, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others have been returned to Israel. In exchange, Israel has released the bodies of hundreds Palestinians to Gaza. Most remain unidentified.

Details of the killing of Abu Shabab were not immediately known. The Popular Forces said he suffered a gunshot wound while mediating a dispute among members of the Abu Suneima clan, which is based in the far south of Gaza.

In a Facebook post, the group underlined that he was not killed in clashes with Hamas.

At least two members of the Abu Suneima clan – a pair of brothers -- were also killed in the dispute, according to a statement by the clan’s head, Attiya Awda Abu Suneima. He praised the clan members who killed Abu Shabab for “unwavering courage and resolve in the face of injustice and treachery” – but provided no details on what happened.

He warned that remaining member of Abu Shabab’s group, “which has strayed from the values ​​of our people, will face a severe reckoning.”

There was no immediate Israeli comment on Abu Shabab’s death.

Abu Shabab was the most prominent of the Palestinian militia leaders that Israel has said it is backing to oppose Hamas. Before the war, he had been involved in smuggling cigarettes and drugs from Egypt, according to two members of his extended family, one of whom was once part of his group.

During the war, his militia became notorious for robbing U.N. aid trucks. It also deployed near Israeli troop positions in military-controlled territory, particularly along routes that Palestinians took to reach food distribution sites.

In its announcement of Abu Shabab’s death, the Popular Forces vowed to “continue on the path until terrorism is eliminated from Gaza’s soil.”

Other Palestinians celebrated his death. The Higher Council for Tribal Affairs, a body representing Gaza’s powerful clans, said his end was “expected for someone who chose to abandon his people … and sided with the enemy.”

Israel’s long-term intentions for Abu Shabab’s group and other militias have never been clear.

But the fighters’ role could grow if the ceasefire plan stalls and Israel keeps its hold on territory in Gaza. Under the U.N.-backed plan, an international security force is to deploy in Gaza to keep security and ensure Hamas disarmament while an international administration headed by U.S. President Donald Trump governs the territory. But no firm plans have been announced on implementing any of the provisions.

Separately, Israel carried out a string of airstrikes on Thursday in several villages of southern Lebanon, targeting what the military said were weapons storehouses of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. There was no report of casualties from the strikes, which came after the military issued warnings to residents to evacuate areas around the targets.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of continuing to hold onto its weapons and rebuilding its arsenal in violation of a year-old ceasefire. Hezbollah has refused to give up its weapons as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.

In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced Palestinians late Wednesday killed five people from a single family, including two children, according to the Kuwait Specialty Hospital, where the bodies were taken. It said another 32 people were wounded.

Israel said it launched an airstrike targeting a Hamas militant in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded five Israeli soldiers. The military said militants emerged from a tunnel and attacked Israeli troops in the Israeli-controlled part of southern Gaza.

Relatives of the dead Palestinians wept over their loved ones’ being transported in white body bags through the city of Khan Younis on Thursday.

Aisha Abu Jazar, a woman living near the five family members who were killed, said she was shocked to hear “unusually intense fire” by Israelis overnight.

“They fired a missile at a tent made of cloth, plastic, and wood. The children were asleep. What did the children do to deserve being torn apart in their sleep? What did they do to deserve this?” she said.

“We were supposed to be in a ceasefire,” she added.

Magdy and Ezzidin reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

A memorial site at the spot where Ran Gvili, the last hostage in the Gaza Strip, was killed while fighting Hamas militants, stands in Kibbutz Alumim, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians mourn during the funeral of people who were killed in an Israeli military strike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military strike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military strike, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Masked Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants hand over a body bag believed to contain the remains of a deceased hostage to the Red Cross for transfer to Israeli authorities, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market held near its records in a quiet day of trading on Thursday, continuing its relatively calm run following weeks of sharp and scary swings.

The S&P 500 inched up by 0.1% and is just 0.5% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 31 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

Dollar General helped lead the market and rallied 14% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. More customers shopped at its stores, and it also squeezed more profit out of each $1 in sales that it made.

Hormel rose 3.8% after likewise reporting a better profit than expected, thanks in part to strength for its Planters nuts and Jennie-O turkey offerings. It also gave a forecasted range for profit in the upcoming year whose midpoint was above analysts’ forecasts.

Salesforce, meanwhile, climbed 3.7% after swinging between gains and losses earlier in the morning. It delivered a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue fell just short.

CEO Marc Benioff extolled how Salesforce is “uniquely positioned for this new era” of artificial-intelligence technology, even if worries continue that all the world’s spending on AI may not end up worth it.

Besides such worries about potential overinvestment in AI, concerns about what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates had sent U.S. stocks on sharp swings since it set its all-time high in late October.

After some back and forth, the general expectation on Wall Street is now that the Fed will indeed cut its main interest rate next week in hopes of shoring up the slowing job market. If it does, that would be the third such cut this year.

Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for investments and can juice the economy. The downside is that they can worsen inflation, which is stubbornly remaining above the Fed’s 2% target.

But Treasury yields ticked higher Thursday following another rise for Japanese government bonds. Expectations for a coming Fed cut to rates also took a very slight hit after reports suggested the U.S. job market may be a bit better than expected.

One report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment last week. The number was the lowest in more than three years.

A separate report said that the number of layoffs announced last month fell by more than half from October’s surge. It still was above year-ago levels, though, according to outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

While better-than-expected data on layoffs is of course good news for U.S. workers, it could also indicate the job market doesn’t need as much help from lower interest rates.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.10% from 4.06% late Wednesday. While the move was relatively modest, increases in yields can discourage some buyers from buying stocks and other investments instead of bonds.

Among the stocks falling on Wall Street was Kroger, which dropped 4.6%. The grocer reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit beat forecasts. It also lowered the top end of its forecasted range for an important measure of revenue this year, while raising the bottom end by less.

Snowflake sank 11.4% despite topping analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Analysts at UBS said the company’s stock may be feeling a letdown after excitement grew so much after it blew past expectations in the quarter just before. Growth in product revenue also decelerated a bit in the latest quarter.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 7.40 points to 6,857.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 31.96 to 47,850.94, and the Nasdaq composite gained 51.04 to 23,505.14.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2%.

AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

Traders Michael Urkonis, left, and Fred Demarco work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A staff cleans an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)