Thailand PM 'elated' at return of Hamas captives

In Thailand, families of hostages weep with joy upon news of their release from Gaza

Pongsak Thenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao, Surasak Lamnau were working in Israeli communities near the border when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023

Wiwwaeo Sriaoun (L), the mother of Thai farm worker Watchara Sriaoun who was held hostage in Gaza, reacts as she receives an image of her son (R) being released, at her home in Udon Thani province, Thailand's rural northeast on January 30, 2025. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP)
Wiwwaeo Sriaoun (L), the mother of Thai farm worker Watchara Sriaoun who was held hostage in Gaza, reacts as she receives an image of her son (R) being released, at her home in Udon Thani province, Thailand's rural northeast on January 30, 2025. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP)

The families of five Thai nationals released from captivity in the Gaza Strip on Thursday wept with joy as they received the news that their loved ones had been transferred to the Red Cross and were on the way to the border with Israel, after 482 days in captivity.

Pongsak Thenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao, and Surasak Lamnau were working in Israeli communities close to Gaza on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was “elated” at the return of five Thai hostages.

The five were released in a chaotic scene in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis along with Israelis Arbel Yehoud and Gadi Mozes.

The hostages arrived in a large convoy that moved slowly through the crowds, with dozens of armed and masked gunmen riding on the back of trucks. Other vehicles bore heavy machine guns. Many waved Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags in the air.

They were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, surrounded by masked gunmen and led through a raucous crowd that was shouting, shoving and filming the spectacle.

Gazans crowd around a Red Cross convoy as Islamic Jihad and Hamas gunmen prepare to hand over Israeli and Thai hostages in Khan Younis on January 30, 2025 (Photo by Eyad Baba/AFP)

Israeli soldier Agam Berger was also released by the Hamas terror group some three hours earlier in northern Gaza’s Jabalia.

The Thai nationals, who were among 31 foreign workers kidnapped in the Hamas attack, were released outside the framework of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that came into effect last week.

Besides the hostages released Thursday, 7 Israeli hostages — four soldiers and three civilians, all women — have been released in two batches since the accord with Hamas came into effect last Sunday.

Thai hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity, from left to right: Surasak Rumnao, Sathian Suwannakham, Bannawat Saethao, Watchara Sriaoun, and Pongsak Thaenna hold the Thai flag in Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv via AP)

A special area was set up at a hospital in central Israel to receive the freed Thai hostages, and Hebrew media reported that Thai restaurants in Tel Aviv were preparing to provide them with familiar food upon their return.

Tens of thousands of laborers from Southeast Asia were working in Israel when the Hamas attack unfolded. Thai nationals working in fields and farms near Gaza were by far the largest group and the most heavily affected.

Wiwwaeo Sriaoun, whose son Watchara was among those freed on Thursday, said between sobs, “It is confirmed everyone, my son did not die. Thank you, God.”

“I will hug him when I see him. I want to see if his health is okay, I am worried about his health,” she added. “Thank you, thank you God he did not die. We trust in God.”

Wiwwaeo Sriaoun, the mother of Thai farm worker Watchara Sriaoun held hostage in Gaza, watches the news as five Thais are set to be freed along with three Israelis held by Hamas (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

Around 10 family members had gathered to support Wiwwaeo as she waited for news at the modest house on the family rubber farm in the northeast Udon Thani region.

Hailing from the poor, rural Udon Thani, Watchara moved to Israel three years ago to work as a farmer for better wages.

Before her son’s release was confirmed, Wiwwaeo spent the day watching news channels on a tablet computer hoping for good news.

“Come, come home back to your father, mother and daughter,” she said as she watched.

“My friend called around 10 p.m. and said the ambassador told her five Thais will be released, and my friend said my son could be one,” Wiwwaeo, looking exhausted but exhilarated, told AFP.

Wiwwaeo Sriaoun (R), the mother of Thai farm worker Watchara Sriaoun who was held hostage in Gaza, cries after receiving the confirmation of the release of her son, at her home in Udon Thani province, Thailand’s rural northeast on January 30, 2025 (Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

“I could not sleep from then until now. I was up until 3 a.m. and my husband and I went out for rubber tapping and since then I have been monitoring the news.”

Watchara’s younger brother, who had also working in Israel, returned to Thailand after Watchara was kidnapped.

“We told him to come back because we were worried,” his mother told AFP.

Watchara’s aunt Ratana Sriaoun said earlier the family would not believe he was safe until they had official confirmation.

“Brothers and sisters at home are very happy and excited, but we have been disappointed many times,” she told AFP.

Thai Ambassador Panba Chandraramiya (left) meets with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on January 30, 2025. (Yossi Zamir)

Thai Ambassador to Israel Panba Chandraramiya told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Thursday was “one of the happiest days in my life” with the release of five Thai hostages from Gaza.

Chandraramiya thanked “the Israeli side for all the preparation for the hostages to be released today,” noting that there was still another living Thai citizen believed to be held in Gaza — Pinta Nattapong.

The bodies of two others, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, are also held.

Israel believes that 79 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Herzog told the Thai ambassador, “We are very moved and excited to see the Thai brothers coming out of the terrible situation, being hostage and captive in Gaza, that’s why we’re so excited that they’re coming out, and we pray for all others.”

“I hope that they will recover soon and be able to go back home,” he added.

Islamic Jihad and Hamas gunmen as they prepare to hand over Israeli and Thai hostage to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis on January 30, 2025 (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

In a separate statement ahead of their release, Chandraramiya said she was “holding her breath” along with the entire country as it awaited the hostages’ return.

“We have nothing to do with this conflict, they just happened to be there, and they are working tirelessly on the farms and kibbutzes,” she said as she watched footage from Gaza at the Israeli hospital where the Thai workers were slated to be brought upon their return.

She noted that despite the war, Thai agricultural workers are continuing to come to Israel. Prior to October 7, 2023, less than 30,000 Thai workers were in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, and that number has grown to 38,000 today.

Also Thursday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told his Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa that an initial medical check of the five freed Thai hostages showed they were in good condition.

Sangiampongsa is slated to arrive in Israel this weekend for a diplomatic visit, the Foreign Ministry said, during which he will meet with Sa’ar.

Bangkok said following the assessment that the five should be home in Thailand by mid-February.

“Though they seem to be in good health, they have been in captivity for 15 months…  I would think they should be able to return within 10 days,” ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters.

A total of 46 Thai workers were killed in the October 2023 attacks, according to the foreign ministry in Bangkok. During a November 2023 ceasefire-hostage deal, 23 Thai hostages were released.

Thai nationals freed from Gazan captivity hug at a hospital in Israel in a photo released by the Thai government on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

Thailand has about 30,000 citizens in Israel, most of them working in the agricultural sector, where they earn significantly higher salaries as laborers than they would at home.

Most Thai nationals in the country returned home after the Hamas Oct. 7 attack, but the number of migrant workers has been steadily growing again. Thailand’s Ministry of Labor said last week that the country would expand its workforce in Israel by 13,000 positions.

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