17 released Thai hostages set to arrive back in Bangkok

Seventeen Thai hostages kidnapped and held for weeks in the Gaza Strip by Hamas will arrive back in the kingdom tomorrow, officials say.

Roughly 13 Thais remain among the hostages taken by Palestinian terrorists during last month’s cross-border raid into Israel, according to Thailand’s foreign ministry.

The ministry confirms that 17 freed Thais will return home tomorrow, touching down in the capital Bangkok shortly after midday.

The former hostages will be accompanied by Thai foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who flew to Israel to meet with them earlier this week.

Ten of the group were released on Friday, as a truce began following weeks of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Seven more were set free by Hamas in the days that followed.

The group has been recuperating at a hospital in Israel since as authorities prepare to fly them home, Thai officials say.

Two more Thai hostages were released late Tuesday, but a foreign ministry official says they will remain in hospital in Israel for now, returning later.

“A totally warm feeling to see how the former 17 were lining up to welcome and give moral support to the two newcomers,” Parnpree posts on social media platform X.