Jakkapan Diawthaisong, 37: Thai agricultural worker, ex-soccer player

Murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 in Kibbutz Alumim

Jakkapan Diawthaisong, 37, a Thai agricultural worker from the Phutthaisong district in the northeastern province of Buriram, was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Alumim.

His family said they lost contact with him after their last video call on October 7, which was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire and explosions. They held out hope that he had been taken hostage until they were ultimately informed that he had been killed.

Jakkapan was among the 22 Thai and Nepalese workers who were murdered in the kibbutz that morning when the terrorists attacked their living quarters with grenades and gunfire.

One survivor from Alumim told Human Rights Watch that before one of the terrorists threw a grenade into their living quarters, he shouted, “Hello, Thailand,” and then in Hebrew, “You like to work so hard, now you will die.”

Jakkapan’s body was returned to Thailand for burial on November 16. He is survived by his wife, Saichol Noo May, their teenage son, Nam, and his mother, Amon.

Jakkapan, who had previously played soccer professionally in Thailand, had been working in agriculture in Israel for several years. His wife told a local news outlet that he had gone overseas to work and send back money since she was battling cancer.

He documented his life on a farm in Israel on TikTok and Facebook, sharing photos and videos of both his experiences working and his leisure activities, as well as sharing many posts about his favorite pastime, soccer.

On October 2, 2023, Jakkapan posted a photo online of a large tractor-trailer, writing: “How many more years do I have to save up to be able to own it?”

His final social media post was made on October 7 at 9:12 a.m., hours into the Hamas assault, when he wrote on Facebook: “Invading and shooting into the residence is not normal.” He was never heard from again.

His wife, Saichol Noo May, told a local news outlet that they had been together for almost two decades, and she could not imagine life without him.

“Thank you for being with me for 17 years. I got to spend my life with this man, you will be with me forever, you were the best head of the family,” she wrote on Facebook several weeks after he was killed. “We have been together – love, affection and honesty to each other, we respected each other, you are a good, warm man to everyone… I miss you so much, we used to talk every day.”